Que Sera Sera: Whatever Will Be, Will Be
by Holly Sophia
Summary: All Spencer Reid can remember is being attacked at home. When he wakes, he is trapped in a small room, at the mercy of an unseen madman. What will he do to save his life before the clock runs out?
1. One

Hello everyone, this is my first bit of fan fiction to be published here! Any constructive criticism would be incredibly helpful in order to achieve a better story. I don't own Criminal Minds or any of its characters. I have created an original character that will premiere here however and yes, she does belong exclusively to me. This story has nothing to do with Tobias Hankel—just in case anyone wondered. Also, the italicized phrases are thoughts. I think that's all I had to say so please enjoy the fruits of my efforts and leave lots of comments! Love,

HollySophia

~*~*~*~

His eyes began adjusting to the darkness, noticing a lantern flickering on a nearby table. He couldn't feel his wrists and with a quick motion of his fingers sensed the ropes which bound him. Everything became clear, suddenly. He was tied to a creaking, wooden chair in a small room he didn't recognize. Testing himself, he tried to remember his name. "Spencer. Spencer Reid. Good. I know who I am. Now where am I?" The tall, lanky man focused his eyes, trying to discern his surroundings. It was just a room with bare walls and no windows. Nothing abnormal that was visible to the eyes.

'_Maybe someone is around here somewhere.'_ He scooted his chair over to the nearest walls as he could then kicked it with the tip of his shoe. "Hello? Can anyone hear me? Hello?" He paused for a moment, listening for an answer. Somewhere far off he swore he heard a thump. "Hello? Is someone there?"

There was no more noise. Spencer rested his head against the wall, trying to piece together what had happened to him in order to get him here. He remembered parking his car outside his house and walking up to his front door. His keys weren't in their usual place in his messenger bag so he went searching for them. As he did so, he heard a strange cat meowing nearby but he took no notice. It got louder and he remembered saying, "What is that?" A huge, sharp pain exploded all over his head and the world went black. _'So I was attacked. By whom I wonder?' _He yelled out again, "Why are you keeping me here? I don't understand!" His head started to throb so he closed his eyes. "Why is this happening?" He murmured to himself. Without meaning to, Spencer slipped into unconsciousness.

***

He blinked his eyes, coming awake again. It wasn't a terrible nightmare. He really was trapped in a tiny room, tied to a chair. He started with fright as a terrible voice said, "Good, you're awake." Looking around, there was no one in the room. _'Did I really hear that or am I imagining things?' _

Spencer ventured to say, "Hello?"

"Hello Dr. Reid, did you sleep well?"

"I've slept better." He paused, looking around for a speaker. It must be concealed in the walls somewhere. "So you know my name but I don't know yours. Have we met before?"

"In a manner of speaking."

"How so?" Spencer was intrigued.

"I've noticed you for a very long time but it was just recently when I took the initiative to actually meet you."

"Noticed?" The way the speaker said this sounded like he meant more than just that.

"Followed is more like it."

"So you were stalking me." Not a question, merely a statement of fact.

"You could say it that way."

"I am saying it that way." Spencer pointed out the obvious once more. The voice didn't respond so he tried another question. "Why did you kidnap me?"

"Because, Dr. Reid, you are a puzzle. And I very much like puzzles."

"You could have just started a conversation with me; there was no need to resort to violence." Reid tried to reason with this rather insane person.

"Ah, but you see, that's not what I want. When I see someone whose life has been torn with tragedy and marked with horrors yet they still remain optimistic—innocent even—it intrigues me. You intrigue me, Dr. Reid."

"So you kidnapped me because I intrigue you?" Now Reid was really confused.

"That and one other reason."

"Which is?"

"I want to see how long you survive."

Spencer felt the blood drain out of his face. The voice continued. "Yes Dr. Reid, you are part of my little experiment. Who dies first? How long can you resist before you go utterly mad? Only time will tell. What a fun, little game…isn't it Doctor? Stay alive."

Then silence enveloped Reid like a thick, constricting blanket. He felt his heartbeat increasing with every passing second. What was he going to do now?


	2. Two

Greetings to all my lovely readers! Thank you so much for the sweet comments you've left me regarding the first chapter I've posted. Hopefully I can continue to entertain you with this next bit! Just so all of you are informed, my original character will be premiering in the next chapter so please be excited for that! One more thing—my work can hold no candle to the actual show which means you simply must view Criminal Minds for yourself! Alright, that's all. Please enjoy this next chapter! Love,

Holly Sophia

~*~*~*~

Spencer knew he had fallen asleep again. He felt very groggy and the painful throbbing in his head continued unmercifully. Noticing now that his watch was gone, he wondered to himself, _'What is his strategy? Why doesn't he want me knowing what time it is?' _His bonds were gone from his hands so he reached down to untie his feet. The chilling voice spoke up unexpectedly, "Don't be hasty Dr. Reid. You wouldn't want to do something you'd regret, would you?"

Reid quickly sat up again. "Why did you untie my hands?"

The voice did not answer him. A rumbling in his mid-section made him aware that he hadn't eaten in a long while. A quick survey of the room showed a bowl of soup and a glass of water on the wood table nearby. Scooting his chair over, he searched for a spoon…there wasn't one. So he tilted the bowl to his lips and swallowed some of the liquid. It had a funny taste to it—like it was very old—but he didn't mind it. The water was room temperature but still he took a few sips. He couldn't figure his captor's plan. Why kidnap him just to leave him trapped in a room? What was the purpose? He took a few more gulps of soup then pushed his chair over to the wall, resting his head against it.

"I'm so tired." He murmured to himself.

As he leaned there for a while, something strange began to happen. Everything began to move in and out of focus; he blinked, trying to fix his eyesight. The room started to spin around wildly and Spencer just couldn't take it. He closed his eyes, pressing his hands to his head. It was impossible to see straight and his body felt like he'd been weighted down with lead. Suddenly, a light entered the room from some indiscernible place. Spencer could hear breathing coming from somewhere and said, his eyes rolling, "Help me."

He cried out as a thick, cold hand slapped him across the face, jerking his body to the right. Handcuffs were being snapped onto his wrists, confining his arms to the chair. "Please," Spencer begged the stranger. "Please."

Without warning, a hard leather whip assaulted Reid, beating him randomly and painfully. He reached a hand out, trying to stop the beating. Reid screamed, unable to control himself, as the whip struck his face. Once, twice, three times. Somewhere far off, Spencer heard a woman screaming torturously. The whip beat his chest again. Blackness consumed him.

***

He knew he was dreaming, he just had to be. There was Morgan standing at a distance; Reid called out to him, "Morgan!" The intensely muscular African-American man turned towards him to say, "Hold on Reid. Hold on." His shape morphed into the beautiful, blonde JJ. "Hold on Reid. Hold on." Her sweet voice whispered to him. His whole team suddenly stood before him, larger than life, looking concerned. They all yelled at once, "Hold on!"

Spencer gasped for air, waking suddenly in a cold sweat with the realization that he was still tied to his chair. The lantern still rested on the table and he was alone in the room. Every part of his body felt like he'd been scorched by fire. Some logical part of him started rationalizing what had happened. _'He has me kept in this room to cause psychological separation—making me feel alone. Then he induces physical torture to increase my stress and terror. He's trying to break me.' _ Spencer tried to move but he was still tied to the chair. He felt utterly helpless.

"Good morning Dr. Reid. Did you sleep well?"

"In an in-voluntary sort of way."

The voice's snicker was eerie.

"Is this all we'll be doing then? Beating me until I die?"

"You underestimate me, Dr. Reid. I am more than a common street thug."

"What is your plan then?" Spencer questioned him.

There was silence…but only for a moment. "You will see."

He was alone once again; horribly bruised, in pain, fearful. "I suppose I will."

***

Spencer spent most of the day thinking over books he had read or figuring out mathematical equations he created in his mind. He knew now it was important to let his captor believe he was in control. Then he could observe his behavior and find a way to escape from captivity. He slept for a little while, his body trying to recover from the beating he received last night or perhaps this morning…he wasn't really sure anymore. When he woke up, there was a bowl of soup and a glass of water sitting on the table again and his hands were free. He used this freedom to pull the water to his lips, drinking deeply. The liquid still tasted strange to his tongue but he drank it anyways. Without warning, the same reaction from before occurred. His world was blurring and spinning out of control; he could barely see straight and he couldn't keep his head up. Something was different this time though. A black figure stood before him; laughing, mocking. Fire spewed from its open mouth and kept screaming,

"Stay alive Reid! Try to stay alive!"

Spencer endured this terror for what seemed like eternity before something sharp pierced the crook of his elbow. Sleep flooded thru him.

~*~*~*~

_**Rinswan: Thanks for your sweet comments! I am delighted that you enjoyed the first chapter! Hopefully you enjoy this as well.**_

_**XxRabidxRabbitxX: I rejoice that you liked it! I pray this chapter does not disappoint. **_

_**Teal-lover: Well, "intriguing" is a unique way to describe that chapter—I enjoy it very much actually! Thank you very much for your interest in this story. As for your ideas, well, you will see soon enough… **_

Please keep on reviewing everyone! I love to know what you think about my work. Much love to you!


	3. Three

Greetings earthlings! I honestly don't know why I just said that—except for the fact that I always wanted to say it. Welcome to the third chapter of Que Sera Sera! Some of you have asked me if the team will be involved; perhaps as hostages themselves. At the time when I first conceived the idea I had considered that possibility but then I realized something. Reid is known by many as the character without thought for himself who jumps into situations that the team has to save him from. I decided that I wanted to do more with his character than that. I want to give him the opportunity to solve a problem on his own just to prove that he could. So, this story is more from his perspective of how he escapes from his captor than equally how the team saves him. Hopefully I'll do Reid justice. Love,

Holly Sophia.

~*~*~*~

"God, my head hurts." Spencer said as he slowly began to wake, squeezing his eyes closed tighter in the hopes of forcing the pain away. When that didn't work, he opened his eyes and started with fear. A woman sat curled in the corner of the room, just staring at him.

"Who are you?" He asked her. "How did you get in here?"

She shrugged, "I have no idea. I went asleep a little while ago and I woke up in here."

"Were you kidnapped too?" Spencer expected she was recently captured so her response stunned him.

She gave a quick nod of her head. "I've been here for two days already."

Spencer's eyes widened. "Two days?"

"Yes. Today's my third. You started screaming yesterday so I'm guessing that today is your second day here."

"I've only be here two days?" Spencer couldn't believe it. "It feels like a week."

"I know the feeling. I feel like I've been here for eternity." She paused, passing her hand over her eyes in a gesture of exhaustion. He decided to engage her in more conversation and said, "My name's Spencer by the way. Spencer Reid."

The woman tried to twist her lips into a smile. "I'm Gia Rosenwood." It was then that the lanky genius took a good look at her. Long auburn hair hung limply around her face, masking white features and blue eyes. She wore a gray tee shirt and sweats, green sweatshirt and tennis shoes. She looked tired, dirty, and had a bruise under her right eye. From his experience here, Spencer knew she would have more.

"Do you remember what happened before he took you?" Spencer inquired of her.

"I remember being at a grocery store because I needed spaghetti sauce to make dinner. I went to the bathroom and I heard a baby crying in one of the stalls. So I called out into the hallway outside the restroom to see if the mom might still be around. But nobody came. I intended to take the baby up to customer services. Then I opened the stall door to get it but all I found was a recorder. I thought it was some kid's stupid prank until someone hit me on the back of my head and knocked me out. "She paused, using the back of her hand to rub her eyes. "Then I woke up in a room here."

His time spent working at the BAU had given him a deeper insight into people. He could sense right now that Gia was bothered terribly by something, so he asked, "What's wrong?"

Gia averted her gaze from his. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay." Spencer took a moment, moving in the chair. He wasn't tied up anymore. Slowly he got to his feet and felt solid floor under his shoes. It was almost too amazing for words. His joy must have showed because Gia asked, "Why do you look so happy?"

"I can stand up and move my feet. I've been here two days and this is the first time I've been able to do this. It's a wonderful feeling."

She nodded understandingly then asked a question out of the blue. "Do you have any family, Spencer?"

He shook his head, slightly surprised at hearing someone speak his first name. Only a few of all the people he knew actually did that. "Just my mom, but she lives pretty far away from me. I write to her every day though."

Gia looked surprised. "I don't even call my family that much in a month. Why do you do that?"

"To make her happy." Spencer added silently, _'And to make up for barely visiting her.'_

"Couldn't you just call her?" She suggested.

"She doesn't have a phone."

Now Gia was incredulous. "She doesn't have a phone?"

Spencer shook his head no, then verbalized the gesture, "No."

"Does she not believe in them?"

"They don't really let the patients in sanitariums use them."

The brunette looked dumb-founded. "Oh. I'm sorry."

He shrugged his right shoulder. "It's not a problem. So, do you have any family?"

"Just my dad and two brothers; they live in Kansas City."

"Where do you live?" He asked her curiously.

"Used to be Kansas City but I wanted to work in Virginia so I transferred over there."

Spencer's curiosity was peaked now. "What company do you work for?"

A wry smile twisted Gia's lips. "The F.B.I." This revelation stunned the genius. "Really?"

"Yeah, I've been with them for about a year now. I was working at the field office in KC but they felt I would be better used in another place."

"That is very interesting." Spencer said thoughtfully. Gia tilted her head in his direction, "Why is that?"

"I work for the Behavioral Analysis Unit in Quantico."

Gia had surprise written all over her face. "You work for the FBI too?"

He nodded his response. "Fate has quite a strange humor, putting two FBI agents in the hands of an insane individual."

"This isn't a coincidence, Spencer. Whoever this person is, he didn't just randomly pick us. He chose us specifically!"

"I wonder why." Spencer mused thoughtfully.

She regarded their predicament and the man before her. "Well, I haven't met you before today. So we definitely haven't worked any of the same cases. What could possibly be connecting us that would cause this psycho to put us together?"

"You mean, besides the FBI?"

Gia nodded, "Yeah."

"I'm not sure." Spencer replied, lost in his thoughts.

"Would you like me to answer that for you?" The chilling voice asked out of nowhere. Gia jumped in fright, as terror etched itself into her face. "Who was that?"

"Our captor." Reid explained to her calmly. "Haven't you heard his voice before?"

She vehemently shook her head, "No. Never."

The voice spoke again. "Would you like to know?"

"Would we like to know…what exactly?" Spencer asked.

"Why I picked you two specifically." The lanky man waited a little before he responded with, "Okay. Tell us."

"I've been watching you both. All the cases you've been involved with. What you do, how you respond to things, what you eat for breakfast in the morning. Everything." The voice paused, not only to take a breath but also for dramatic effect—as Spencer knew quite well. "I know the horrors and tragedies you've both experienced in your lives. They would have broken someone else's spirit. But you, both of you are very much intact and happy. Not to mention incredibly optimistic. Almost to a fault really."

"So you kidnapped us because we're incredibly optimistic?" Gia inquired, not trusting her ears to repeat the truth to her. Not even Spencer could fathom the insanity of this man's plan at the moment.

"Exactly, Miss Rosenwood! Incredibly optimistic government servants? It's almost unheard of! You are both oddities: modern day marvels who can see the worst that the world has to offer without losing your happiness. Or your optimism that everything will be alright in the end. Good will conquer evil." The voice chuckled ominously.

"What is the point of this?" Gia said angrily, trying to hide her bewilderment as she clenched her fists in rage.

"The point, Miss Rosenwood?"

"Yes the point! What is the point of holding us here if we're both so incredibly optimistic?" She raged sarcastically.

"I want to see how long you both can survive."

Spencer saw the blood visibly drain from Gia's face and all the fight leave her. "What?" She murmured, eyes wide.

"I want to see how long your optimism sustains you. How far can it take you before you give in to madness? Tell me, do you know?"

Gia couldn't help her reaction. "You bastard! What the hell is wrong with you?" There was no reply. Spencer reached out; placing what he hoped would be a comforting hand on her arm. She turned to look at him, eyes glistening with tears. "What are we gonna do Spencer?" She fell into him, burying her face in his shoulder. He held her close, a hand pressed to her head. "I wish I knew."

~*~*~*~

_Rinswan: You will know more about the team's attempts to recover Spencer later on. Right now I wanted to focus more on his efforts at staying alive and escaping on his own._

_Missspencerreid15: I'm doing my best! Speed coupled with accuracy is what I aim for. _

_Dragonflytwin: Goodness, so many questions! Let me try to tackle them. The food and water both have hallucinogenic properties which are used in this case to weaken the victim and leave them defenseless. I think this Unsub may alternately underestimate Reid and consider him a challenge. He sees him as strong because the horrors of life haven't broken him but this Unsub also knows anyone can be broken with time and effort. He just wants to know how much time it will take for Reid to give into madness. Your insight into Reid's character is quite impressive! Thanks for sharing it with me!_

_Goldspy: Reid definitely knows why he's there. The question now is, why is his captor doing this? I'm glad you find the drugged food and water aspect to be interesting. I wanted to show just how deep his captor's twisted intentions run and, of course, forcing someone to choose between eating and being beaten is definitely high on the twisted intentions scale. _

_The-Vampire-Act: Some people have to find ways to let their aggression out. This person is using the torture of other human beings as the outlet for his aggression. I'm glad you caught that! This chapter definitely explains that line. The dream was mostly his sub-conscious regurgitating memories of people who make him feel safe to counteract what he was dealing with in reality. I'm extremely delighted that you're enjoying the story! I hope you'll keep reading. _

_Fantasyqueen10: You can never have too much Reid, you know? He's undoubtedly my favorite on Criminal Minds! I'm guessing he's yours as well?_

_Edward-Cullen-babe501: Thanks go to you for all the love you have concerning my story! No need to worry, I would never kill Reid unless the situation highly called for it. He is, after all, the reason I started watching in the first place._

I am so grateful to all of you for taking the time to read and review my work. It touches me very much to know that you enjoy it and want to keep reading what comes next. I love all of you for your kindness and the thoughts you've shared with me. Please continue to comment and let me know what you think. You are who I am writing for after all!

P.S. Happy New Year everyone! Let's hope 2010 will be a smashing year!


	4. Four

Hello my lovelies! So I had a revelation in the past few days—you can all thank yourselves profusely for this—and I wanted to share it with you. All of your comments about how the team must be reacting to Reid's kidnapping got me thinking—which may or may not have been a good thing—and I realized something. This story couldn't be complete unless I showed you exactly what the team is going thru trying to find their captive comrade. With this thought in mind, the chapter following this one will give you a glimpse, not only into what the BAU is doing to find Reid, but also into the mind of Reid's captor. Thanks to all of you for your inspiration! Just a reminder, don't forget to watch Criminal Minds! Matthew Gray Gubler directed a future episode so please be on the lookout for that as well! I believe I have thoroughly drained my brain onto the page now. Enjoy everyone! Love,

Holly Sophia.

~*~*~*~

Spencer was getting used to the lack of light. So much so that he hardly noticed when he closed his eyes and went to sleep. Even he woke up it hardly mattered. The dark—or more aptly named as the inherent absence of light—used to frighten him but at the moment he had to make it his friend. He knew that the darkness was much harder for Gia to deal with. Wherever she was before, there must have been more lighting. She sat curled into a ball in the corner of the room, pressing her arms against her knees in a pose of protection. Spencer couldn't help but wonder what their captor had done to her.

"Gia?" He ventured timidly. The lamp's minimal light provided a slight view of her face. She glanced up at him. "Yes?"

"What did he do to you?"

Instantly she looked uncomfortable, unwilling to make eye contact with him. "Can we not talk about it?"

Spencer, however, did not want to leave it at that. "I know he beat you because I saw the bruises on you. What else did he do?"

She curled herself even more into a ball. He could see that she was trying to retreat from him. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Why Gia? Why don't you want to talk about it?" Her reaction really puzzled him. What was so terrible that she couldn't speak of it?

"Because."

"That's not a real answer, Gia."

"I don't have to give a real answer." She snapped angrily. "I don't even know you at all! As far as I'm concerned, there is no incentive for me to tell you anything! Especially if you insist on interrogating me!" Her chest was heaving and her blue eyes flashed at him. "You're right." Spencer apologized, raising his palms in a gesture of surrender. "I'm sorry."

Gia relaxed. "It's alright. I understand that you're curious. I mean, what else is there to be curious about in here?"

"I don't mean to interrogate you…it just comes naturally to me." Spencer explained sheepishly.

She smiled wryly at him, "Yeah, the FBI will do that to you."

He slightly smiled too, "Yeah." As he sat there, he considered ways to rid the woman of her fear. "So what is your family like?" He inquired cautiously.

She paused for a moment, weighing what she wanted to say. "Well, my family is pretty odd. Ever since my mom vanished when I was a little girl, things were never the same. My dad took to drinking to cope with the pain. Losing the love of his life was really tough on him."

"Wait. Your mom vanished?"

Gia nodded. "Yeah. When I was four she went jogging one morning and never came back."

"And you never found her?"

"No, never."

Spencer was stunned. "That must have been really hard for you to deal with."

She shrugged one shoulder, "Not as hard as it used to be. Twenty years can't completely heal the pain but it does ease the ache."

"What about your brothers?" He inquired; glad to find a subject she was willing to converse about.

"My oldest brother Gabriel is 28 and he's getting married in a couple months. He's a really strange guy—probably the quietest I've ever met—so the fact that he got a girlfriend was a miracle. My other brother Garrett is 27, a musician, and probably the funniest guy in the world."

"They sound like nice people." Spencer attempted to offer up something meaningful.

"Yeah," Gia nodded her agreement. "They are amazing. I feel really lucky." She stopped; looking down at her feet, then back up at Spencer. "I'm never gonna see them again, am I?"

He honestly wasn't sure of what to say. Lying seemed like the best way to diffuse the loaded question. "I think you will. We'll find a way out of this, alright?"

"Okay." She seemed more at ease now. Spencer felt guilty for telling her a lie but he decided that it was better than quoting statistics at her. Statistics that said they had very little hope of survival. Gia leaned back against the wall, resting her head before she said, "So Spencer, tell me something about yourself."

"Like what?" Spencer questioned, unsure of what she wanted to hear.

She shrugged, "I don't know; something interesting or unusual I guess."

He thought hard, thinking of something that didn't make him sound like an egotistical or arrogant sort of person. Quoting his IQ status was inevitably tossed out at these qualifications. Finally, he settled on what seemed a safe bet. "I have an eidetic memory."

"What is that exactly?"

"Basically, it is a very vivid and detailed photographic memory. I can recall images and see them like they are happening right now when they are really memories of past experiences."

She seemed impressed by this. "That is quite…amazing. I've never heard of that before."

"It's nothing really. What about you?"

She reaches around her neck and pulls out a silver cross. "My mother gave this to me when I was a little girl. She told me that it would always remind me that somebody was watching over me, even if she couldn't. I've never taken it off."

"Do you follow a particular religion then? Or is the cross just a symbol of good luck?"

"It's both. It reminds me of my mother and gives me hope that she's still out there but it's also a symbol of my faith."

Spencer was intrigued by this revelation so he prompted her further. "What do you believe?"

It took her no time at all to answer. "I believe in Jesus. What about you? What do you believe in?"

"I believe in what is tangible and real. Anything I can experience with my senses."

"Why is that?" She asked him curiously.

"I've honestly never experienced any tangible thing which would prove God's existence to me. It seems too improbable to believe in something that can't be seen or felt."

"You can though."

"Can what?"

"See and feel God."

Spencer looked at Gia like she was crazy so she expounded on her statement. "You can see God in the good, selfless deeds done in the world. People never do good things without God. The good is all him. You can feel God when you experience hope. God is hope."

"That hardly makes sense." Spencer objected. "You're saying that your God is basically an emotion. He's a good deed done by humanity. He isn't real then; he's just something that you feel."

Gia looked frustrated with him. "No Spencer, you're being too logical. You can't look at God with a purely logical standpoint."

"Why not? Isn't God supposed to meet us where we are or something like that?"

"Now you're just antagonizing me."

Spencer shook his head, "No, I'm merely questioning what you believe. It happens all the time."

"So why are you so cynical then? Can you answer me that?" Gia played on the offensive now.

"I don't believe I am."

Gia sighed with exasperation. "Oh please, you absolutely are! What do you have against Christianity, Spencer?"

"I don't have anything against it. I am merely pointing out the improbabilities in your case for it."

"There are improbabilities about everything Spencer. And I do mean everything! Sometimes people just have to choose to believe regardless of how improbable things may seem."

"Or they don't have to believe at all." Spencer reminded her.

The woman's mouth closed into a tight line. She looked alternately angry and remorseful. "Yes, they do that too."

She curled her feet under her, Indian style, and huddled back in her corner. Spencer knew the conversation was over. He wasn't exactly sure why Gia was mad at him but he knew she would eventually tell him. She was the type of girl who said she'd never talk to you again then five minutes later had to tell you something she had discovered. The fact that they were trapped in this room together would only exacerbate this. Now all Spencer had to do was wait.

~*~*~*~

_.real: I am very glad that you find my concept to be interesting. I too noticed how Reid always seems to need rescuing both on the show and other stories here. This was my attempt to give him more strength and the ability to save himself. You can pronounce her name as, 'Gee-uh Rose-un-wood'. I wish a wonderful new year to you as well! Also, I count you as an awesome person for picking Reid as your favorite! _

_Limegreensoxs: Sorry about that. I tend to have discrepancies like that in my work. I get so wrapped up in the big picture sometimes that the little details slip thru my radar. I am glad that you approve of his protecting himself. He is a smaller fellow who doesn't seem like a huge threat but I think he would fight hard to protect himself if he needed to._

_The-vampire-act: She does seem quite emotionally volatile, doesn't she? I actually believe that before his encounter with Tobias, Reid was very optimistic. The incident and others ensuing have shaken his optimism but it is still part of his core—something which can't be denied. I will accept your Spencer gingerbread. Your idea is definitely good and I will put at least one more nightmare in simply because you requested it! Thanks for the love!_

_Misses Reid: I am doing my best to keep this story solely focused on him. I only introduced Gia to have someone who was sort of like Reid's opposite be with him and cause some conflict. This gives Reid a chance to further prove that he is more than the pretty boy genius but a competent agent and strong person. Don't worry about Reid; he's in trustworthy hands, I promise you. I feel so honored that you would compare me to Garcia! That is honestly one of the best things I've been called in my life. Thanks very much for your kind words—they mean a lot._

_Fantasyqueen10: I agree! His awkwardness is exactly what makes him funny sometimes! One of my favorite Reid quotes ever is this one—"I find that I do my best work under intense terror." What's yours?_

_Nymphadora-CullenBAU: First off, I utterly adore your name. Secondly, I promise you will understand the Un-sub's reason for kidnapping Reid and Gia as the story goes along. Just let me weave my written magic for the moment! I must admit that I am very impressed with your profile of the Un-sub. It is dead on. Are you a Criminal Minds buff or someone interested in criminology? Trust me, in this next chapter you will know exactly how the team is reacting to Reid being taken!_

I must thank each and every one of you; you have given me the push I need to continue my writing even when I think it is utterly awful. Your positive comments are so encouraging and I can't thank you enough for bestowing them on me. I love that y'all are sharing your thoughts with me over each chapter. I desire earnestly to know your opinion of them and what you think might happen next. So, until I've crafted the next part in this tale, may the watching of Criminal Minds episodes sustain you! I love you all dearly. 


	5. Five

Salve mio bene peloso amicizia! I believe in Italian this translates as, "Hello my fine furry friends!" Can anyone guess who said the fine furry friends bit? Bonus points to you if you know—or if you can correct my lackluster English to Italian translation. I must say that I am very pleased with the excellent level of feedback I've received over this story. It is always helpful to learn from others about what I can improve on. So thanks to all of you who have reviewed my work! I know I am a beginning writer so everything I do will not be on an expert level but I'm grateful that all of you are willing to stick with me anyways. Just FYI, the italicized words are quotes from the last chapter. Sorry it's taken so long to get this next installment up—but I strive always for perfection. And now…to the main event! Love,

Holly Sophia.

~*~*~*~

Ding! The two slices of toast snapped upwards, browned and crispy. The skinny blonde man stopped tinkering with the mass of wires and metal on his kitchen table and went to the toaster. Carefully, he scraped orange marmalade across the toasted surface, arranging it on a plate before heading into his basement. He followed a long corridor which lead to a door that he pushed open with his foot. This new room was full of monitors and keypads. Only the screens on the left side of the room had a video feed going though.

"Let's see how our friends are doing." The man murmured to himself, pressing a key. Suddenly, video images came up of the two FBI agents, Spencer Reid and Gia Rosenwood, who were both sitting against the wall opposite the table he left in the tiny room. He noticed that Gia looked particularly irked with Spencer so he turned the volume up to hear what she was saying.

"_No Spencer, you're being too logical. You can't look at God with a purely logical viewpoint."_

The man sighed, leaning back in his desk chair. "I knew she would start an argument about this at some point. Gia is far too emotional and Spencer really doesn't understand her at all."

"_Why not? Isn't God supposed to meet us where we are or something like that?"_

"_Now you're just antagonizing me." _

He chuckled. This sort of conflict was exactly what he wanted. With all the other killings he had done, breaking down any positive feelings which were previously held between his captives was the first step to drive them towards madness. He pulled up the files he had collected over Spencer and Gia, biting into a piece of the toast. It seemed like destiny had given him another chance at destroying the woman. He had first targeted her when he lived in Kansas City. He was disgusted by her ability to be happy when she had the worst job in the whole world and worked with the worst team in the history of the FBI. No one should be allowed to experience so much happiness. Not ever. But before he could complete his plans for her, he was transferred to Virginia and continued his killing there. After a time he noticed Spencer. The genius was a perfect target, as was that abnormally cheerful Penelope Garcia. But while he made preparations to take both of them, he discovered that Rosenwood had just been transferred to Virginia. He abandoned Garcia, taking Gia's transfer as a sign that she was indeed destined to die.

"_No, I'm merely questioning what you believe. It happens all the time."_

"_So why are you so cynical then? Can you answer me that?"_

"_I don't believe I am."_

He was fascinated by the fact that both agents had similar losses in their past and hard situations to overcome, yet they turned out utterly different from each other. They had both lost their semi-responsible parent and were left with the dysfunctional parent to take care of them—or perhaps it was the other way around. They were both treated as outcasts while they grew up and endured hardships which defined them. Both joined the FBI. Their personalities were vastly opposite however. Spencer was a genius and Gia—was clever in her own right—but could never be as smart as him. Spencer was logical, almost to a fault and Gia was emotional, always to a fault. Spencer relied on intellect while Gia used her instincts and ability to empathize with others. He believed it would be his greatest work to destroy the hope of these two and leave them in despair, begging for the release of death which he would eventually give. Then they would be just like all his victims…and just like him.

"_Oh please, you absolutely are! What do you have against Christianity, Spencer?"_

"_I don't have anything against it. I am merely pointing out the improbabilities in your case for it." _

He always made guesses as to how the game would play out. "I wonder who will lose control first…perhaps Gia? She seems most likely to lash out in violence against someone. But then again, Spencer may surprise everyone, defying logic to attack in a rage. After all, no one can truly resist killing someone if they feel their life is threatened. Not even these two."

"_There are improbabilities about everything Spencer. And I do mean everything! Sometimes people have to choose to believe regardless of how improbable things may seem." _

"_Or they don't have to believe at all."_

He turned the volume up louder to listen to Gia's reply. She seemed angry with Spencer and perhaps a little regretful as well. It could have been her older brother Gabriel's rejection of God that tormented her. Or maybe even her father. _"Yes, they do that too." _

Gia moved back into her corner and the silence resumed between her and Spencer. Now they were boring and uninteresting to watch. He finished off his toast, letting the crumbs drop to the floor as he smiled to himself. It would only be a little while before the fun began once more. He reached past his keyboard to the phone on his right, knowing already what he would say. Carefully, he dialed the 800 number and waited to speak with an operator. Finally, a voice answered.

"Thank you for calling the Federal Bureau of Investigation's tip hotline."

He listened thru the list of possible numbers he could dial to spill his guts to the FBI before the right one came along. "If you have any information regarding any open missing person's cases, please press seven now."

A few more moments of waiting and a woman with a sweet, child-like voice picked up. "Thank you for calling, what information do you have about any missing person?"

He turned on his voice modifier, speaking slowly into it. "I can't talk very long, okay?"

The woman on the other end of the line replied, "Just tell me what information you have sir."

"I saw a gang of men take this guy from his apartment. I don't have a cell phone but I was worried about the guy so I followed them to some storage units in Aquia Harbour, Virginia. I snuck in after them and found the guy they had kidnapped. He said his name was Spencer Reid."

"Did you say Spencer Reid?" She seemed stunned by his words.

"Yes ma'am, I did. He said he works for the FBI and that I needed to tell them he had been kidnapped."

"How long ago was this?" He could hear the clack of keys in the background and knew she was taking his information seriously. He waited, pretending to recall his thoughts. "A few days."

"And why didn't you come forward sooner?"

"I was scared about what would happen to me if I told the FBI. But now I realize that it's important to tell the truth." He attempted to sound like a repentant man with a desire for justice to be done.

She breathed, and then said, "Sir, this is very important. Do you remember the location where Spencer Reid was being held?"

"It's kinda hard to remember. It was dark outside." He pretended to sound stumped by her question.

"Please try sir. This information is crucial to saving Mr. Reid's life."

He knew the woman didn't know Spencer because she didn't use the title of Doctor or his first name to refer to him. He decided that she must know one of his team mates then. "I remember a sign that said Aquia Storage Units. The place they were holding him was right on Aquia Creek I think—a big old building that it didn't look like anybody uses anymore."

"Do you know why this gang kidnapped Mr. Reid?" Keys were clacking furiously on the woman's end. He loved dangling this over the FBI—it was almost too easy.

"I really don't know. But I did see lots of guns when I was there and a whole bunch of blueprints for government buildings. I was afraid they were trying to get secret information out of Dr. Reid or something." He was laughing on the inside at his trick and how clueless she was about it.

She asked him another question, "Is this all the information you have sir?"

"Yeah. I don't want to give you my name…just in case somebody finds out who I am. They might want to kill me."

"I understand. Thank you so much for your help." She said, sounding jubilant and excited by all he had told her. And just like that he hung up the phone, placing it back on its cradle. He turned back to his screens; Spencer and Gia had not moved since he last looked at them. He got to his feet, walking back upstairs. Leading the BAU on a wild goose chase was only part of his plan. Only a little while longer and he would make things very difficult and painful for the two agents in his basement. They had to break sometime; the only question now was how long it would take before they did.

***

Agent Jennifer Jareau sat behind her desk, tapping her foot anxiously. Piles of case files lay scattered over the room but she hardly noticed them. Until they found Spencer, nothing else really mattered. She stared hard at the phone, hoping beyond hope that it might ring and her friend would be on the other end of the line. She hoped he was okay. The day Reid had disappeared; she attempted to call him at least five times to let him know that they were having a staff meeting. He never picked up. So she decided to go to his house and let him know personally. It was around eight in the morning when she got there and the moment she reached his front door, she knew something bad had happened. His door was ajar and the messenger bag he always carried lay discarded in the entryway. His cell phone sat right next to it. Now it was four days later and they had turned his house, neighborhood, and practically the whole city apart trying to find him…with no luck. A break in the case would be a miracle right now.

"It would be a huge miracle." JJ murmured to herself, resting her head in her hands.

Suddenly, her phone rang. She jumped to answer it. "Hello?"

It was Kristy Taylor from Human Resources—her small, feminine voice was unmistakable. "Hey JJ, it's Kristy. I was working the missing person's hotline this morning and a guy just called in with information about Spencer Reid."

JJ was sure her heart had stopped. "What did he say?"

"Basically, he saw a gang of guys kidnap Reid from his house and followed them to Aquia Harbour. To some place called Aquia Storage Units on Aquia Creek. This guy said that he snuck inside and Reid told him to tell the FBI that he had been kidnapped. He wasn't totally sure about why they took Reid but he said they had lots of guns and blueprints of government buildings. I think they may be terrorists, JJ."

The blond woman quickly scribbled what Kristy said onto her notepad. "Did he say anything else?"

"Just that the place they were holding Spencer was a big, old building that looked no one used it much. He didn't tell me his name." Kristy said apologetically.

"It's okay Kristy. Thank you so much for the information." JJ thanked her profusely.

"Hey, it's no problem. I hope you find him."

JJ hung up, grabbed her notepad and practically dashed to Hotch's office. He was on the phone when she burst in but at the look on her face, he said, "I'm gonna have to call you back."

"What is it JJ?" He hung up the phone, looking concerned.

"We got a hit on the missing person's hotline about Reid. Some guy witnessed his kidnapping and knew exactly where he was taken to." She replied excitedly, handing her notes to Hotch. He took the notepad, looking it over. "He said Reid was in Aquia Harbour, in some storage units on Aquia Creek."

Hotch looked up at her. She waited with anticipation, hoping for him to say just what she wanted to hear. "Get the team together. We're going to Aquia Harbour."

***

It was late at night as the team stood outside the Aquia Storage Units, hidden in the shadows so they couldn't be seen. Because the man on the phone had mentioned that this gang had a stock of guns with them, the BAU enlisted SWAT to come on their rescue mission, just in case the gang's threat was more overwhelming than expected. Agent Emily Prentiss stood next to Agent Derek Morgan, waiting for the signal from SWAT as they checked for explosives. "I'm so tired of waiting." Derek said, with his arms crossed in agitation.

"SWAT will let us know when we can start checking everything. Just be patient." She instructed him, attempting to calm both of them at the same time.

"I've been patient for four days Emily. Who knows what could have happened to Reid with that long of a waiting period. I'm ready to get these guys who took him and bring the kid home!" Morgan was very passionate about the subject but Emily knew she didn't have to restrain him for too much longer.

Agent David Rossi decided to speak up now, "We all want Reid to come home. We just have to make sure it's safe for us to go charging in there."

Morgan sighed, holding a hand to his head. "I know. But he could be in there Rossi! I'd be willing to risk a whole army if it meant getting Reid back."

Emily nodded in agreement, "I think we all would."

Just then, Hotch came walking over with a determined stride, JJ following quickly. He told them pointedly, "We have the all clear. Prentiss, you're with me. JJ, with Rossi and Morgan. Everyone, I'm sure I don't have to tell you this but it is imperative that we be cautious and careful. Don't do anything reckless that could put your life at risk. No matter what."

The team broke apart, Hotch and Emily taking the left side of the storage units while JJ, Rossi, and Morgan took the right. A SWAT agent named Michael Pierce went with JJ and the others while another named Jerry Harper followed Hotch and Emily. They came to a large structure which looked very old—a few of the windows were broken and the paint was peeling off the outside walls. Hotch checked the knob—which was locked—then kicked the door in. He slowly entered, gun drawn, checking for any sign of danger. Emily and Harper followed after him. They were in a long corridor, with doors on all sides. "Split up," Hotch said. "We can cover more ground that way."

Emily took a door on the left. She quickly turned the knob and flung the door wide open. The room was empty so she entered. On the far side of the room was another door so she crossed the floor and twisted that knob as well. She forced the door open and stood in a dark room. Carefully feeling around with her fingers, she found a light switch and flipped on the lights. There was a table covered with equipment Emily knew was used for making drugs and several small bags filled with a crystal substance. She knew instinctively that she had just stumbled into a meth lab. She was about to contact Hotch when a voice shouted from her left, "Hey! What the hell are you doing?"

A stocky, balding man stood in a doorway to her left, a large gun in his arms. He fired at her and she ducked out of the way, running back into the other room. He followed, yelling, "Guys! The cops are here!" Emily started screaming, "Hotch!" as she ran back into the main corridor. A flood of armed men followed—made up of at least five guys. Her towering, dark-haired boss whirled out of a room down the hallway and fired at the men chasing Emily. One got it in the shoulder, hitting the floor as the others ran over him. Agent Harper jumped out of a room on the right and shot off several rounds at the gang. Two men fell; wounded in the chest and legs. Hotch's focus was so consumed with protecting Emily that he hardly noticed anything else. One of the men pulled out a pistol from his overcoat and aimed it at Emily.

"Get down!" Hotch shouted, leaping at Emily as she ran and knocked her onto the concrete. The gun fired and Harper was hit twice in the chest, tumbling hard onto his back with a grunt of pain. The two remaining gunmen split up, ducking behind doors so they had a better chance of hitting Emily and Hotch. "Let me go!" Emily screamed, pushing her boss away. She charged over to Harper, shoving him back into the open room he had been in before. Hotch slipped back into the room opposite that one, kicking Emily her gun. They waited a few seconds and then he counted to three on his fingers, eyes locked with Emily. Suddenly, they both jumped out of their hiding spots, firing straight at the two gang members who had ducked out from behind the doors. Both men went down in a blaze of gunshots and blood. Right then, SWAT burst into the storage room, the rest of the BAU right behind.

"Are you okay sir?" One of the SWAT agents asked, coming to Hotch's side.

"I'm fine. One of our agents is down. He needs to be taken to the hospital." He informed him, trying to calm his beating heart.

"We need medics in here!" The SWAT agent called to his team. One of them called it in and they went to tend to Harper. JJ, Rossi, and Morgan hurried to Hotch and Emily. "Are you both alright?" Rossi asked, looking concerned for their safety.

Emily nodded, "We're okay. We're both okay."

Then, the gang member who had been shot in the shoulder started to moan. Hotch went to him, looking positively murderous as he kicked the man's gun away from him. "What are you doing here?" He inquired angrily.

"I ain't telling you." The man replied stubbornly. Hotch forced him to his feet, pinning him against a wall with a hand to his throat. "Do you want to answer that question again? The right way this time?"

He must have realized the depth of Hotch's rage because he became instantly more talkative. "Look man, we didn't mean anything. Somebody called my boss and told him there was a bunch of crystal in this place they were trying to get rid of. He told my boss we could have it; we just had to come get it tonight. And he said if any cops showed up we had to make sure they died so this didn't get back to him."

"Do you know anything about Spencer Reid?" Hotch interrogated him harshly.

"Who's that?" The man looked confused.

"He is an FBI agent we were told was being held here. Did any of your gang kidnap him?"

The guy looked trapped, his eyes bulging out of his head. "No way man! We ain't into that stuff! We just wanted the crystal—nobody kidnapped Spencer Reid or anybody else like that. I swear!"

"Agent Hotchner, we need to take this man to the hospital." One of the medics on the scene informed Hotch. He nodded, releasing the wounded man from his grasp. The man began to follow the medic but stopped for just a second and asked, "Are you Aaron Hotchner?"

Hotch looked surprised. "How do you know my name?"

The man pulled an envelope out of his coat. "The guy who gave us this meth…told us to give this letter to an Aaron Hotchner. Said we'd probably meet him tonight. That bastard set us up the whole time for this." He snarled angrily, letting the medic help him out of the building.

Hotch stared at the letter in his hands, slightly worried about what it might say. "What is it Hotch?" JJ asked curiously. "I believe it's a letter from our Unsub." He told her calmly. The whole team gathered around him as he slit the envelope open with his thumb and pulled out a folded, white piece of paper. Slowly, he smoothed it out and read the typed words aloud.

"This letter is for Agent Aaron Hotchner. It has been 4 days since Dr. Reid vanished from his home. 4 days and you are no closer to finding him then you were when you started. I have no desire for money, fame or anything trivial like that. I only want the pleasure of seeing two humans filled with optimism take their own lives."

Rossi was stunned by this revelation. "He has more than one captive. He took someone else!"

This was disturbing news, but Hotch continued to read, "Hope will not sustain your Dr. Reid or his little friend for much longer. I will watch them die, knowing you can do nothing to stop me. Or save him. Time is running out Agent Hotchner; the sun is setting on Virginia and the hills will run with blood. Where you stand is so close to finding your team mate yet your blindness closes you to the truth. No one has ever found me or my crimes out—I dare you to do better."

Silence ruled the circle of agents for a moment before Morgan spoke up, "How do we find this bastard, Hotch?"

The team turned to their leader. "We need to find the leader of this gang. He'll have more information about our Unsub because he actually spoke with him. Someone should call Garcia and ask her to look up anything she can find on who owns these storage units. Let's head to the hospital and see if we can get anything from these gang bangers."

They left the Aquia Storage Units, determined to find their friend and bring him safely home, unaware that he was less than ten miles away from them.

~*~*~*~

_Kelli: Thanks so much for leaving a comment! I wanted to address some of the things you brought up. First, when I say there was a lack of light I meant that the light from the lantern on the table wasn't a whole lot. Spencer could still see he just couldn't see very well. Secondly, Reid encourages Gia to talk so as to distract her from her fear. Honestly, the Unsub had been stalking them both a long time so he knew a lot about them and their lives already. Whatever they discussed was not new information to him. As for the profiling and the examination of the room—I left more time to build the relationship between Spencer and Gia so there could be more conflict therefore I haven't profiled the Unsub yet. Also, I forgot to write that Spencer had checked the room for a way to get out. I tend to get caught up in the big picture a lot of the time so I let the little details slip thru. Sorry about that! In addition to that, Reid makes a conscious decision to ingest the drugged food and water even though he knows what it does to him because he needs to stay alive. I'm so glad you brought up all this; it really helps me to learn how to write better! Thanks once again. _

_Limegreensoxs: Anytime! I love talking with my readers and reviewers! _

_Goldspy: That is a really great quote! I love how he was so serious about what he was saying; like it was nothing to be laughed at even though it really was. I am ashamed to say that I haven't seen most of the episodes from Season 1 yet which includes the Fisher King 1 & 2. Someday I will buy the first season and then I will know an infinite more than I do now!_

_Dragonflytwin: Well thank you very much! That warms my heart! Yes, his complicated personality is very intriguing. All the contradictions within him are so human they help me relate to him infinitely more than I do with the other BAU members. That's why I like to write about him more because his complexities are a challenge for me. I find him fascinating! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and continue to follow the story. _

_Nymphadora-CullenBAU: Yeah, I wish I could say that I watch Criminal Minds purely for educational factors but alas, I too have fallen under Matthew Gray Gubler's magnificent spell. Which isn't such a bad thing! I have heard the episode is supposed to air sometime this January but I don't know for sure what day it is yet! Hopefully it will be soon! Yeah, I'm trying to give her more depth to her so she's not some Mary Sue that I stick in this story just to make Reid look better. Haha. I think that is part of his belief system—believing only in what is real and tangible—because he is a logical person but also because in his experience, everything you can see and touch is what matters. Believing in an unseen, sentient being doesn't seem to him the way that he has escaped from dire peril. Which is understandable, considering where he is coming from._

_Fantasyqueen10: I love those quotes! This is one of my favorites too. The one where Reid is trying to eat with chopsticks—"It's like eating with two number 2 pencils!"_

_Gymkidz2000: Thanks for the kind words! I hope you liked this chapter! _

_The-vampire-act: Yeah, I'm sure it's difficult for him because he is so very logical. He doesn't mean to make people angry; he's just analyzing everything like he usually does to understand it better. Basically, religion is what gives some people hope and for him to challenge what Gia believes is like challenging any hope she has left in the world. I definitely wanted him to be human because anyone would be afraid if placed in the same situation yet he is remaining as strong as possible, and trying to help her. I'm glad you really love this story—I think I may put a nightmare into the next chapter. Do you have any ideas about what this nightmare should be like? Just let me know!_

Thanks to all of you who reviewed—it means a lot to me! I'm sorry that I didn't include Garcia in this chapter but I will definitely feature her in the next. I hope everyone is having an amazing New Year so far! And remember, Criminal Minds episodes start airing again on the 13th! See you next time…


	6. Six

You have entered a world where there is no escape from insanity: A world where even the toughest of individuals will cower before the terror before them. It is called…the mind of Holly Sophia. Just kidding! I'm feeling a bit dramatic today so I felt like doing something unconventional. Once again, I am so grateful to all my readers and reviewers! You guys make my world go round and all manner of good things like that. I hope that Que Sera Sera continues to entertain y'all and cause happy feelings within you! Also, congrats to **Goldspy **and **Heyya15965** for getting the Garcia reference I made in the last chapter! You two are awesome! Love,

Holly Sophia

~*~*~*~

The waiting room of Stanley Princeton hospital was crowded with FBI and SWAT agents, all waiting for news about SWAT agent Jerry Harper's medical condition. He went into surgery about half an hour ago, to remove the bullets lodged in his body and to repair any damage that his injuries had caused him. Hotch sat in a seat outside the waiting room, staring blankly at his hands while he thought hard about what had happened that night. He knew for a fact that Harper's condition was his fault. If he hadn't been so concerned about Emily and trying to protect her then he would have noticed how vulnerable Harper's position was. He could have done something to protect him. He hardly noticed Rossi sit down in the seat next to him. "Are you okay Hotch?"

It seemed impossible for him to verbalize what he was feeling. "I'm not sure." He told the older man honestly. "I don't know how to explain it."

"Just try Hotch."

Whether it was his pride or sense of self preservation talking, Hotch had a hard time telling Rossi what was going on inside him. "It's my fault that Harper got shot. I left him entirely vulnerable when I should have been covering him."

Rossi looked quizzically at him. "Why weren't you covering him?"

It was almost out. "I was too busy protecting Emily."

Somehow, the older man sensed that Hotch's protection of Emily didn't have much to do with the fact that he was her boss. He knew he had to gently ask his next question. "Hotch…is there something going on with you and Emily?"

Hotch sighed in defeat. "We've had a relationship together for about three months now."

Rossi masked his unbelief very well and continued to listen to the weary team leader next to him. "I always made sure to put her with other people when it came to arrests and stakeouts. Just to be careful, so I wouldn't let my emotions compromise our team or the cases we did. It seemed like everything was okay. That's why I took Emily with me tonight. I thought I could handle it. But when I saw those men shooting at her and the terror on her face…it was like every restraint I had broke loose. I could have cared less about anyone else. Emily was all that mattered."

He looked the older man dead in the eye, an open expression on his face. "I couldn't lose another person I love, Dave. It would have killed me."

Before Rossi could even make an attempt at replying, Hotch's phone rang. He quickly answered. "Agent Hotchner."

A perky, cheerful Garcia answered him. "I have the info you requested, Chief."

"Do you know the name of the gang boss?" He asked her earnestly.

"As of now, I only know he's called Fisher. There aren't very conclusive photos of him so I don't know for sure what he looks like. And he hasn't done anything very criminal like which means he isn't in our system—a handy little trick for wannabe criminals I must say—so that was a dead end too."

Hotch was a little irked. "Do you have anything useful, Garcia?"

"Why sir, your doubt wounds me! Have I ever called without useful information before?" She didn't give him time to reply because she kept right on going. "The man, who owns the particular storage unit you asked about, is Otto K. Tabby. 31 years old, no arrests or convictions—seems like a respectable, hard working American citizen. Never married but he makes a good living as an electrician. Oh, he also owns a house in Quantico and has lived there for about a year and a half now."

"Address?" Hotch asked her.

"2448 Evelyn Price Street. I'm sending the street directions to your cell now."

Hotch was relieved to have a hard, factual information to go off of now. "Thanks Garcia."

"No problem Chief!" She paused for a second then said, "Hotch? Bring Reid home, okay?"

He understood the desperation in her voice. "We will Garcia. I promise."

Right as he hung up, Doctor Marshall—who had been operating on Agent Harper—walked over to them. Both Hotch and Rossi stood to their feet. "Doctor, how is Agent Harper?" Hotch inquired worriedly.

"I'm sorry sir. We did everything we could for him, but his wounds were far too extensive. He died on the operating table just a few minutes ago." Doctor Marshall was very sympathetic and sounded sad at this loss of life. Hotch didn't hear anything he said. He was in shock. Rossi noticed and said, "Would you mind if I break the news to his team?" The Doctor nodded. "Of course."

Rossi walked into the waiting room, trying to determine the best way to let the SWAT team know they had lost an agent and a friend. Hotch followed, thinking to himself, _'What the hell am I going to do now?'_

***

When Spencer woke up, the familiar glass of water and bowl of soup were waiting once more on the table. Now a dilemma came to his mind. There was barely enough for him earlier when he was by himself; now with two people there was not enough at all.

"Morning Spencer." Gia's high, feminine voice greeted the lanky man.

He turned to her inquisitively. "Morning?"

She shrugged, giving him a small smile. "It feels like morning to me."

"So our captor has enacted yet another step in his plan to cause us total madness."

All traces of happiness on the woman's face vanished. Weariness took its place. "What now?"

Spencer pointed at the table. It didn't take long for Gia to put the pieces together. "He's trying to starve us." He nodded his agreement. "Yes. He is."

"Great. I always wanted to die from emaciation." She got to her feet and began pacing thru the room. Spencer kept trying to logically quantify the situation…it wasn't working.

"Look, this issue doesn't have to divide us Gia. That's what he wants to happen." Spencer tried to reason with her. She turned to face him and said, "Don't you think I know that Spencer? Well I do. I know this psycho will stop at nothing to get us to turn on each other. I'm trying my best to not let him get to me. Believe me, I am."

"All we need to do is split everything. It'll be fine." Spencer reassured her. She sighed, "I know. I just don't like feeling stressed out and freaked all the time. It scares me."

Spencer tilted his head towards her in curiosity. "Why is that?" Gia sat down on the floor and he followed suit. She rubbed her head, thinking to herself. "Because I like feeling normal sometimes. It feels safe—like a familiar friend." She stopped and gave a wry smile. "Being held captive isn't really my idea of normal."

"I don't think it's anyone's idea of normal." Spencer remarked jokingly.

Gia nodded with a smile. Then she said, "I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier. I was being a big jerk."

He shrugged. "It's okay."

"It isn't though. I don't want you to think I'm so close-minded that I can't take criticism or speculation of my faith. I can. It's only the circumstances that are making me on edge right now."

"I understand. Anyone would react the way you are—it's only natural." He tried to sound reassuring when he said this. It surprised him that Gia looked slightly dismayed. "What's wrong?"

"Do you know that moment when you realize that you aren't any different from the rest of humanity?"

She could tell from the confused expression on Spencer's face that he hadn't yet experienced this moment, so she continued. "Well, this is my moment." Gia inclined her head towards her lanky companion. "No matter how civilized any human is we will all resort to madness in order to save ourselves."

"Perhaps." Spencer replied, contemplating this new bit of information. He stood, picked up the glass of water then sat back down…handing it to Gia. She looked quizzically at him. "Go ahead." He coaxed her. Before she took a sip, he said, "Just so you know, the water has some hallucinogenic drug in it. I'm not sure what it is."

She looked over at him. "I know. Before you got here, it was in my water too. I drank it anyways so I wouldn't die." She took a swig from the cup then handed it back to him. "It tastes even rustier than mine used to be."

Spencer downed some of the liquid as well. "Funny, it tastes even weirder than it did before."

Then Gia said, "Oh, I don't feel good at all."

Suddenly, Spencer had a revelation. "I think he increased the dosage of the drug in the water. That's why it tastes so strange!"

"What?" Gia's voice was slurred and she swayed dangerously from side to side. Spencer took hold of her arms, trying to steady her. She was completely out of it at this point. Now Spencer was feeling the effects he knew so well—seemingly increased tenfold. The room spun crazily and he leaned against the wall for support. His body was utterly succumbing to the drug.

"Gia..." He murmured. The brunette didn't reply. Suddenly, the lantern light gave way to blinding white light. He attempted to cover his eyes though his hands seemed like they were made of lead. As he did this, a cold grip seized his arm. All he could see was a dark, terrifying face looming over him. The horrible assailant laughed while he beat Spencer mercilessly with the hard, leather whip. He was in so much pain he couldn't move or focus his eyes. Not even when he heard Gia screaming. He felt like he was on fire. Darkness consumed his vision.

~*~*~*~

_Goldspy: Yeah, this guy is definitely a twisted and crazy individual. He will continue to prove that as the story goes on. Basically, he wanted to torment the team about their lost team mate so he found a gang of thugs who weren't very good at doing jobs or successfully pulling anything off. He knew they would fail at whatever task he gave them to do. Of course, he had to act like a legitimate drug pusher so he told them to kill any cops that came along but he didn't expect that they would. Actually, in the season four episode 'Paradise', Hotch kicked down a cabin door when they were searching for a kidnapped couple. _

_The-vampire-act: I actually have an idea about what I'm gonna do now. You will see another nightmare in the next chapter I believe. I hope you like it! And once more, thanks so much for the love! It means a lot to me!_

_Heyya15965: I'm very glad you like it! Actually, Gia's team is in Kansas City so it's unlikely any of them know she's missing. Even if they did know, they probably wouldn't care enough to go looking for her since she didn't get along with her team very well. _

_Dragonflytwin: Indeed. If Reid has made it this far without losing his hope, there's undoubtedly nothing can take it away from him. Not even this awful experience. I'm certainly glad that my plot twists were unexpected! That's the way I like them to be. This Un-sub takes the experience of kidnapping as a point of pride. Not only does he want to break his captives' spirit but also the hopes of the people who love and care for them. It's a very twisted, cruel game he's been playing for quite some time now. _

Gosh, I am so thrilled that all of you love this story! It's a really neat thing for my work to be appreciated by others and I'm so grateful that y'all take the time to read and review. It means a lot to me. And hey, if any of you have any Criminal Minds story challenges, just let me know! I would love to do one! Have a fantastic week everyone! 


	7. Seven

Greetings friends! This is a lovely day because it's getting warmer and the snow is slowly melting which gladdens my heart immensely! I thought I would let everyone know that starting Monday, January 18th I will be in college classes again. This means less time to write stories for me. But rest assured, I will do my best to update as much as I possibly can. College is important but any chance to not do homework is even more important to me! Also, this chapter is a lot longer than any of the previous ones I've done but I hope that won't deter you from reading. I think that is all I had to say for now. Once more, all of you are my heroes and I thank you for taking the time to read and review this story! Kindness has found a truly wonderful home with all of you. Love,

Holly Sophia.

~*~*~*~

Once he had personally explained to SWAT about the tragic death of their fellow agent, Rossi thought his night couldn't get any worse. The devastation and anger on every agent's faces was heartbreaking to behold and he couldn't get it out of his head. It was hard to concentrate on his driving but he forced himself to pay attention. Emily sat in the passenger seat next to him and Morgan drove the car behind them. They were on their way to question Otto Tabby about his involvement with the shootings tonight. After all, since everything went down in his storage unit he must have at least known something. Rossi glanced over at the woman beside him. She was trying her best not to look distraught but he knew she had been just as affected by this as everyone else had. Hotch's declaration of their secret relationship still rang fresh in his mind and he knew had to ask Emily about it. He wished her never had to but ignorance was a luxury he could no longer afford.

"Emily, can I ask you a question?" He ventured, trying to sound casual about it.

She shrugged one shoulder in an absent manner. "Sure. What do you want to know?"

He paused, trying to find the best way to ask this. "Why did you start a romantic relationship with Hotch?"

Her mouth dropped open but she quickly snapped it shut. She was floored that he had found out. "How did you…"

"Hotch told me."

"He told you?" Now she was shocked. "Why did he do that?"

Rossi sighed, attempting to be delicate with his approach. "He believes that his feelings for you emotionally compromised him tonight. He thinks that Agent Harper was shot because he was too busy protecting you and didn't notice anything else."

Emily stopped for a moment, thinking hard about this. "You don't really think that Harper died because of us, do you?" She turned her gaze on the older man. "Do you?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure Emily. I wish I could tell you that I don't think that but what else am I supposed to believe considering the evidence?"

"The evidence doesn't prove anything! None of you were there. You don't know what happened except that Harper was shot and he died! That doesn't mean Aaron and I are responsible!" Her eyes flashed angrily at him. Then she remembered who she was yelling at and instantly became embarrassed, lowering her gaze to her lap. Rossi continued to drive in silence for a little while.

"I understand that none of us were there Emily. But if you think about it logically, you and Hotch are together. He saw you were in danger and instantly reacted to protect you. Do you really think that Hotch was thinking about Agent Harper at that moment if all his mind was telling him to do was save you from harm?"

Emily thought for a long while before she answered. "What are we gonna do Rossi?"

"I wish I could tell you what you should do. But I can't Emily. You and Hotch will have to figure this out on your own."

She sighed in exasperation, hand to her head. "This all started in such a perfectly innocent way. We were just talking more at work, and then I offered to make dinner for him and Jack one night. After that it was like any free time I had was spent with Hotch. After a couple of weeks he kissed me. He acted so embarrassed about it but I told him I didn't mind—I actually really liked it. We started dating I guess you could say, but we kept it quiet so there wouldn't be any problems. Things have been great for the past three months. He was putting me on separate assignments from him so there would be no questions or compromising of judgment." She rubbed the corners of her eyes like she was tired but Rossi knew it was to keep from shedding any tears.

"And tonight, I guess he thought it would be safe to pair me with him. He had no idea that this was going to happen. He never would have taken me with him if he did. And now somebody's dead because of us." She sniffled quietly, biting back tears. "We really screwed up."

The car came to a stop in front a small, yellow house in a quiet neighborhood. Rossi cut the engine and turned to his teammate. "Emily, I know you're upset. But right now, we have to interview a suspect. We still have to find Reid and bring him home. Can you keep yourself together?"

She nodded, taking a deep breath. "I can do that."

"Good. We'll talk more about this later."

They both exited the large black van, Morgan following suit. The porch light was on at the yellow house but there were no other lights in the building. "Is this the right place?" Rossi asked Morgan, who glanced at his cell phone. "2448 Evelyn Price Street…yep, this is the place."

They walked up the sidewalk to the house. The whole neighborhood seemed eerily quiet to all three of them but their attention was focused on the task at hand. Rossi rang the doorbell and called out, "Otto Tabby, this is the FBI. We need to ask you some questions."

No one answered so he started knocking on the door. "Mr. Tabby, open the door. This is the FBI…we need to ask you some questions!"

Out of nowhere, a creepy, garbled voice said, "Sorry Dave, Mr. Tabby isn't here."

They all looked around but there was no one in sight. "Who is this?" Rossi demanded, watching for someone to appear.

"No one really."

"What do you want?" Morgan inquired, pretty angry with whoever this person was.

The voice snickered nastily. "I want to play a game."

"I don't think so." Emily replied with an edge to her tone.

"Oh come on! The BAU doesn't like to play games? That's all your job is really—playing mind games. Whether you know it or not, all of you have been playing a game with me for a little while now."

Rossi asked cautiously, "What game is that?"

"The one where you try to find Dr. Reid before he dies."

"You sick bastard!" Morgan snarled angrily

"Please, no name calling, Agent Morgan. That could entice me to not give you a hint."

"Hint?" Emily repeated, slightly bewildered.

"Yes, Agent Prentiss. A hint."

Rossi ventured another question. "What's the hint?"

The voice laughed manically, "You'll just have to go inside to find out."

"What do you mean?" Rossi asked. The voice didn't reply. The older man turned to Morgan and said, "Be my guest."

Rossi and Prentiss backed away from the door. Morgan took a few steps back from the door before he charged it, slamming his foot hard into the wood. It flew open easily, revealing a large, dark room. All three of them pulled out their guns, carefully entering the house. Emily fumbled around on the wall, finding a light switch and flipped the lights on. They quickly made a sweep of the house but found nothing. There was practically no furniture in the house or decorations of any kind. Just when they thought Reid's kidnapper had played a trick on them, Rossi caught sight of a table in the living room with a large yellow envelope laying on it. It was addressed to him.

"What do you think this is?" He asked aloud. Morgan and Prentiss came to his side, both equally as curious yet still wary.

"I guess there's only one way to find out." He slit the envelope open with his finger and reached inside. Carefully, he pulled out the contents. There were two pictures, one paper clipped on top of the other. The first was a picture of the team standing outside the storage units. On the picture was written in red ink, 'So close…' He pulled the paper clip off and slid the other picture on top. Fury filled him at what he saw. Emily gasped and Morgan said, "Oh my God."

The picture showed Reid, lying at a crooked angle on the floor, very bruised and bloody. A woman lay beside him, looking about as bad as he did. Above them written in red were the words, 'Yet so far.'

"When I find this guy, I'm gonna kill him." Rossi said, rage etched all over his features. "We're going back to the BAU. This has to end." It seemed his night could get much worse.

***

They arrived back at the BAU and Rossi practically barreled into Hotch's office. JJ stood in front of his desk, talking with him but their conversation immediately ended when they saw the look on Rossi's face. "What's wrong Dave?" Hotch asked, concern in his voice.

"This." Rossi dropped the pictures on Hotch's desk. JJ gasped, holding a hand to her mouth. Hotch looked very grim. "Where did you get these?"

"From the Un-sub. He left them at Otto Tabby's home." Rossi's anger was a force to be reckoned with at the moment. "We have to stop this guy Hotch."

Their team leader nodded. "Get the team assembled. We'll meet in the conference room in ten."

Rossi nodded, rushing out of the room. JJ quickly followed, pulling out her cell to make a call. Hotch pressed his face into his hands in frustration. He honestly did not know what to do. Not only was one of his people kidnapped and being tortured but he inadvertently caused the death of a SWAT agent and now an investigation was being mounted by Chief Strauss. He felt sure the world was coming to an end.

"Hotch?" Emily's voice drew him out of his mind. He looked up at his co-worker—his lover—and said, "Yes?"

"Are you okay?"

He looked at her for a moment, remembering the fact that just a few hours ago their relationship was a secret and not a danger to their team or anyone around them. "Honestly? No. This is a lot to deal with at once."

She nodded her understanding. "I know the feeling. What do you think we should do?"

"Chief Strauss has begun an investigation into Agent Harper's death at the request of SWAT. They want to know exactly what happened to him. She'll find out about us, I'm sure. Then our relationship will be blamed for Harper's death and we will undoubtedly be benched…possibly fired."

Emily sat down in the chair on the other side of his desk. "This is so screwed up."

He watched her, waiting for her reaction when he said what he had to say. "I'm going to take a temporary leave of absence."

Her head snapped up and she stared at him in un-belief. "What? Aaron, you can't!"

"Emily, I have to. It will take pressure off the department for this whole situation—make it look like they're dealing with the problem. Besides, it was because of me that all this started. I knocked you down instead of shooting the gang members chasing you. That's what got Harper shot."

"You can't be serious." A look of incredulity displayed itself on her face. "Taking a leave of absence will make you look guilty. It could potentially end your career Aaron!"

He looked so determined that Emily knew she couldn't make him change his mind. "I have to do what I think is right Emily…no matter what the consequences."

"I don't want to lose you." She whispered, looking at him with pleading eyes.

"You won't." He replied seriously. "I promise you won't."

They looked at each other for a long while before Hotch became aware of the time. "We have a meeting."

Emily nodded. "Okay."

He got to his feet and held the door open for her. She left his office, mind spinning. There had to be a way she could keep him from losing his job. There just had to be.

***

_It was like something out of a horror movie. He saw Gia putting the tainted water to her lips and drink deeply of it. He thought he must be dreaming because the effects of the drug hit her right at that moment. The cup fell to the floor, shattering, and she began to writhe on the concrete, eyes rolling into her skull. He felt perfectly fine however, like he hadn't consumed any of the drugs. Something told him to act like he had though and copied Gia's movements, pretending the drug has subdued him. Now it felt definitely like a horror movie. A door slid open and he saw a man enter the room. Without even knowing if he were right, Spencer knew this man was his captor. His face was blurry but he was perfectly human. Spencer was terrified of being beaten again. All of a sudden, water was being poured onto his head. Maybe his captor was attempting some sort of water torture. Then his captor began saying his name, "Spencer, Spencer!" As he did so, his creepy voice shifted to Gia's high pitched, feminine tone. "Spencer! Spencer!"_

_***_

"Spencer? Oh God, please be alright!"

Somewhere a woman's voice begged but he couldn't tell from where. His face felt wet. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw tears streaming from Gia's eyes and dripping onto his skin. Now he clearly focused on her dirty face looking down on him. "Gia?"

She started sobbing brokenly, "Thank God. I thought you were dead!" She buried her face in her hands, kneeling on the concrete. Pained, Spencer slowly got up and grasped her hands in his. "It's okay Gia. I'm not dead, I promise."

Gia couldn't help but laugh. "I know you're alive Spencer. I just can't believe it. It's almost unreal."

She reached her hand out and gently touched his jaw. He shivered from the touch of her cold hands. "Do you believe now?" He asked. She nodded. "Yes." Leaning, back against the wall, she turned to him and asked, "What do you think his plan is?"

"Besides killing us?"

She half-smiled at his unwitting sarcasm, "Yeah. Besides killing us."

"He seems to find a sadistic pleasure in draining us of our will to live. The beatings he administers are further proof of this; especially since they always occur after we eat or drink the drugged things he's given us. Soon we won't eat or drink just to avoid the beatings."

She tried to simplify what he just told her. "Basically he wants us to think food equals pain. Don't eat food then you don't feel pain."

"Basically."

Gia sat back, staring wide-eyed into space. "Wow. That is really twisted evil." Spencer nodded his head in agreement, wincing in pain as he moved to sit next to her. She looked back at Spencer and lowered her voice, "So what do you think we should do? Do we have a plan?"

Spencer contemplated. "Honestly? I'm not really sure. I don't even know what day it is or how long we've been here."

"Okay, let's think about this." Gia stopped, calculating figures in her head. "I was held apart from you for two days. If my internal clock is still running right it's only been a day or two since then. So…I think today might be Saturday."

"Only Saturday?" The thought was shocking to Spencer. It hadn't even been a week since that mad man had taken them. The impossibility was insanity. "Did your internal clock tell you that you were held apart from me for two days?"

Gia shook her head. "No, I had a window where he kept me. I could even see a black willow tree from where I was."

The moment she said this, Reid's mind began flying. "Did you say black willow tree?"

She looked at him curiously. "Yeah…why do you ask?"

"Black willow trees are native to Virginia. If you saw one then that means we may not have left the state of Virginia!"

"Is that a good thing?" Gia inquired, interested in Spencer's excitement.

"Yes. It means we're more likely to be found. That's always a good thing, right?"

She shrugged her left shoulder, nodding. "Yeah."

Spencer tried to be nonchalant as he asked, "You had a window?"

"Yes, I did."

"Could you see anything out of it?"

Gia shook her head, "No."

Now he was confused. "Wait, I thought you said you saw a black willow?"

"I did but that was all I could see."

The confusion on Spencer's face prompted Gia to expound on her statement. "I was chained to a wall Spencer. I couldn't just get up and look out the window."

"He chained you to a wall?" Spencer couldn't help the incredulous expression on his face. He noted the fact that Gia wouldn't look him in the face. "What else did he do?"

She struggled inside before she finally told him. "He made me listen to a recording of a woman being raped. Over and over again; everyday. Then he would beat me. I would cry and beg him to stop but he just laughed at me. I was blindfolded the whole time." She couldn't help it. The dam holding her emotions back finally and completely broke. Tears streamed down her alabaster face. "Do you know what the worst part is, Spencer?"

He shook his head. She took a deep breath then told him it all. "I think he raped me. I woke up after I had been kidnapped and my underwear and sweats were on the ground next to me. I was horrified and scared and cried myself to sleep thinking a psychopath had stolen my innocence." Spencer felt pain for her. It was only natural. He awkwardly reached out and touched her hand.

"I'm sorry." He attempted to sympathize with her.

"Don't worry about it." She wiped her eyes. "God, why am I so emotional? I went thru all the Academy training. After that I thought I could handle every worst case scenario the FBI could throw at me. But nothing could prepare me for this. Absolutely nothing."

He understood how she felt and decided to express it. "Yeah, I know the feeling. But the FBI training can only take you so far Gia. Eventually you have to learn out in the field on your own."

She sniffled, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. "I know. I worked in Kansas City for a whole year but I got less than three months of actual field experience. The rest of the time I was forced behind a desk."

"Forced?" Spencer echoed her.

Gia nodded. "My first supervisor was set to transfer to another field office three months after I joined. He had me out in the field, interrogating suspects, the whole nine yards basically. After he left, I apparently rubbed my new supervisor the wrong way because she never stopped hating me."

"She didn't hate everyone?" He questioned, attempting to keep her mind off the trauma she had experienced.

"No, I was the only one. There was even another girl on the team but I was the only one she picked on. That girl is barely adequate as an agent but I never got field time and she did."

Gia took a deep breath, trying to let out some of her pent up frustration. "Do you know what I hated most about that though?"

"What?" Spencer inclined his head in her direction, listening intently.

She looked peeved as she said, "I worked with my team for three months and made great relationships with them. When I got benched for the rest of the year, none of them did anything. The fact that she's an experienced and respected agent scared them into silence. They just stood by and watched the injustice happen. They're all cowards."

"People instinctually act in self-preservation Gia. They may have wanted to help you but the need to protect themselves came first." Spencer attempted to logically explain the situation to her.

"But if you're on a team," Gia countered. "You protect each other and look out for each other. Leaving someone to fend for themselves is absolutely wrong for a team to do."

Spencer nodded in agreement. "It is wrong. But we are human. To err is human. It's only natural."

"I know it is." Gia sighed. She leaned against the cold wall and closed her eyes. Suddenly, she looked at him. "Do you think your team is looking for you?"

He replied confidently, "I know they are."

"How can you be so sure?"

"They're practically my family. They won't stop until they find me."

Gia commented wistfully, "You have a good family."

The lanky man agreed. "Yes I do."

They stayed quiet now, feeling there was nothing else to be said. And truthfully, there wasn't. Not yet.

~*~*~*~

_Limegreensoxs: Why thank you! I am glad to see you are a shipper of Hotch and Emily as well! _

_Heyya5965: She hadn't officially been transferred into a department yet before she was taken. She was new to Quantico and didn't know anyone there. That made her an extremely easy target because practically no one would notice she was missing. Yeah, for some reason Hotch seems to get the brunt of a lot of problems. Undoubtedly because he leads the team he has a lot to deal with. I am so glad you enjoyed the chapter!_

Thanks to all of you who reviewed—it means a lot to me. I hope this chapter was up to standards but if not, please leave me a comment! Also, to **The-vampire-act, **I hope that you enjoyed the nightmare in this chapter. Your suggestions were extremely helpful to me and I appreciate your input very much! One last thing to add, please say a prayer, light a candle, or give a moment of your time to the people in Haiti who are suffering right now. They desperately need all the help they can get.

I love all of you and can't wait until the next chapter comes!!! 


	8. Eight

Aloha everyone! I apologize profusely for the long stretch of time between my last update and this one. I intended to write earlier but I could never seem to find the time. College sucks up fun out of my life. Anyways, I'm excited to continue this story because it's like my little child and I love to spend time with it! I think you're all amazing and I hope you're watching Criminal Minds on a regular basis—getting your Spencer Reid fix and all that! Also, follow Matthew Gray Gubler on Twitter and get updates about him and view pictures he posts—he's under the name GublerNation. Enjoy everyone! Love,

Holly Sophia

~*~*~*~

The conference room in the BAU office would have sounded like the House of Representatives from the outside. Inside, the every agent on the team was arguing about what to do and talking over each other to get their point across. They had neglected to tell Garcia about this because they would have to mention the pictures they found and they knew it would trouble her immensely. They were all enraged by these photos their Un-Sub had left and terribly afraid for their team mate's life but unsure about what their next move should be.

"Look," Derek said loudly, trying to get everyone's attention. "We know for certain that this guy has another victim now. This has upped the stakes of finding Reid before our Un-Sub decides that he wants to move on to another victim and kills them both."

"Honestly, let's think about this here." Rossi tried to reason with him. "How much time do you think Reid has?"

JJ interjected her opinion. "He's kept him alive for five days already. All his plans seem to be right now is torturing Reid and this girl then using them to torture us. It's a sick, sadistic game to this guy."

"That was the whole point of sending us to the storage units. He wanted to make us squirm. Somehow, he's going to wound us even more than we are now." Emily was very grim as she said this.

"So what should we do then?" Morgan asked, turning his gaze to Hotch. The others followed his example.

Their leader remained deep in thought for a while before he replied. "Our Un-Sub drew us to these specific locations for specific reasons. He may have left more clues there than he intended to. What we need to do is meet with the building owners and ask about who rented the property. Also, we need their permission to search each property more thoroughly. I think that he's proud of whatever he's done and he wants us to know it."

He got to his feet and began delegating assignments. "JJ and Rossi, I want you to question the landlords of the rental house. Morgan…"

Emily interrupted quickly. "Hotch, I'd like permission to stay behind and help Garcia."

Hotch didn't even think about the decision. He agreed. "Alright, Morgan, you're with me. Prentiss, try to look at this case from a new angle—any angle we can work to our advantage. All of you report back with any new information."

The unspoken 'Remember we don't have a whole lot of time left' hardly needed said. They all knew the stakes they were fighting against. They were not in their favor…not at all.

***

The middle aged woman pushed her long blonde bangs out of her eyes and peered at the two men who had just stepped into her office. Both were tall and handsome; the smaller man with dark hair wore a suit and the taller man with a shaved head had on a tee shirt and jeans. She wondered what they were doing around here. "What can I help you with gentlemen?"

They pulled out badges and ID. The smaller man said, "I am SSA Aaron Hotchner and this SSA Derek Morgan. We're with the FBI."

She was stunned by this revelation. "Oh hello…I've paid all my taxes my whole life. Nothing suspicious in my background or anything; I'm licensed to run this place too!"

"We're sure you are ma'am." Morgan assured her. She relaxed some. "We just have a couple of questions about Storage Unit number 3."

"Oh!" She knew exactly what he was talking about now. "You mean the building where all that craziness was going on yesterday! Were you all part of the team that was here?"

Hotch nodded. "We were."

"Well what can I help yah out with? Ask me anything and I'll answer it as best I can." Her Mid-west accent was quite prominent as she spoke.

"Can you describe the person who rented the unit from you?" Hotch asked her.

She shook her head, "I'm afraid I can't dear. I don't really remember much about the guy."

"Do you remember anything about him? The smallest detail could help us." Morgan encouraged her. She felt a little overwhelmed but tried hard to remember. "He was really tall and had red hair…I only remember that because it was a really bad dye job. Tiny slip of a thing honestly. I can't remember much else."

"When did he rent the storage unit?" Morgan inquired, observing her thoughtfully.

The women tried to recall the date and had trouble so she pulled out her log book. "Otto K. Tabby rented that storage unit about a year ago and paid for it well in advance. The only times he came here were to check on his unit. Otherwise I never saw him."

Hotch decided to ask another question, "Do you have any security cameras around here?"

"I'm not getting those in for another couple of weeks. Never really thought I needed them until yesterday." She looked sad. "Sorry I can't be more help."

"It's quite alright." Hotch reassured her. "Do you mind if we look at the storage unit for any evidence that might help us?"

She smiled sweetly at him. "Sure thing honey." Snatching a ring of keys from behind her desk, she led the way to the large warehouse. The doors in front had been crossed over with police tape. Without looking she pulled a key out and unlocked the lock, carefully opening the door. The woman turned to them and said before she walked away, "I hope you find something."

"Thank you." Hotch thanked her, stepping under the tape to get inside with Morgan following. It was a lot brighter on the inside because of the sunlight but the metal building was still very cold. There was more tape over the door Emily had gone thru. Hotch and Morgan both put on rubber gloves before they began to poke around. There was nothing in the first room she had entered so they went into the next. All the drugs and drug making equipment had been bagged and taken in as evidence which left a table and chairs in the room.

"What are we looking for Hotch?" Morgan questioned his boss, looking around the room just to get a feel for it.

"Anything out of the ordinary. There may be something here that was missed earlier." Hotch replied, examining the table legs with a careful eye.

Morgan went into the adjoining room on the left in the hopes of recovering some evidence. He flipped the light switch on the wall and took a good look around. This room had been covered with wallpaper and had lots of dust in the corner where some boxes used to be before they were cleared out. Morgan went over to the dust and bent down to run a gloved finger thru it. Nothing special. He was about to get up when he slipped on the slick floor and fell into the wall with a crash.

"Morgan? Are you alright?" Hotch called from the other room.

Morgan got to his feet, brushing off his shirt. "I'm fine Hotch." He turned to survey the damage he had done. He suddenly realized that he had broken thru a false wall which had been put up a couple feet away from the actual wall. The hole he made showed him something unexpected. There, nailed to a frame between both walls, were newspaper clippings encased in plastic baggies. He took a closer look at them and horror wrenched his gut. He cried out,

"Hotch! In here!"

His boss hurried into the room, "What'd you find?"

Morgan pointed to the clippings with a look of grim anger on his face. "Read those."

The clippings read such things like, 'FBI agents Martin Kelly and Grace Cellars still missing', 'Search continues to find FBI agents Donna Adkins and Ray Lamont', and 'Families of FBI agents Joseph Parrot and Summer Kivett request information to aid in search'. There were six of these altogether and over each article was written in red marker, 'It was me!'

Both men looked grimly at each other. "Reid's kidnapper is a serial killer who targets FBI agents." Morgan was irate about this and clenched his fist tightly. Hotch pulled out his cell phone and said, "I'm calling Garcia. We need all the information we can get about these agents who went missing…it may help us bring Reid home."

~*~

On the outside as Emily sat quietly in the chair, she looked like the picture of calmness and composure. Inwardly, however, she struggled hard with what she was about to do. She attempted to justify it to herself over and over again yet continued to feel immense guilt for something she hadn't done yet. She knew she was going thru with it though. In a quiet voice she murmured to herself, "I'm doing the right thing. It doesn't feel like it but I am."

A woman with a large stack of case files came up to her and said, "Agent Prentiss? Chief Strauss will see you now."

"Thank you." Emily slowly got to her feet, feeling like every step she took was sinking her further into a bog. As she walked thru the office door, dread knotted in her stomach. Chief Erin Strauss sat behind her desk, looking positively regal and unapproachable. Her aristocratic voice greeted the female agent. "It's good to see you Agent Prentiss. Please, have a seat."

The raven haired woman sat in the arm chair opposite Chief Strauss's desk, her heart beating a million miles a minute. "What can I do for you?" The older woman asked.

Emily plucked up her courage, reminding herself of her well-rehearsed story. "I've been having some trouble lately."

"Trouble with what exactly?"

There was the final deep breath before she leapt off the metaphorical cliff. "With my job."

She detected faint surprised from behind the Chief's armor. This had to be done delicately so as not to arouse the older woman's suspicions. "The problems have been going on for a couple of months now. I haven't been able to stomach our cases as well as I used to. Usually I could leave all the horror I've seen behind at the office and not think about it at home. But I can't get away from it anymore. All I can see when I close my eyes are the corpses, the looks on the faces of families who have lost loved ones, the brutality and the cruelty…it's too much for me. Sometimes I can't sleep at night because I have nightmares about it all. I started thinking that maybe it might be time for a change in scenery but I just couldn't bring myself to it." Emily paused, pretending to collect her thoughts. "Then Reid was kidnapped and I knew it was the final straw for me.

She took a breath, looking down at her lap in one last effort to steel herself for what she was about to say. Her instincts told her that she had Chief Strauss on the edge of her seat. Finally…"I need to get out of the BAU. I honestly can take what the job requires of me anymore and if I don't leave now I think I'm going to be driven into insanity."

"Are you sure Emily?" Chief Strauss looked genuinely concerned, observing the agent thru worried eyes. "Are you absolutely sure this is what you really want?"

Emily thought about it. She thought about the lives she had saved and the killers she had helped put behind bars. She thought about the horrors she and her fellow agents endured every day in the pursuit of justice. She thought about the sleepless nights filled with worry and fear that their Unsub might outwit them. She also thought about the person she was trying to protect. Was it worth it? Was giving up everything she had known for the last few years worth it?

"Yes," Emily nodded confidently. "I'm sure."

"Alright." Chief Strauss pulled out some paperwork from a drawer and looked back up at the younger woman. "Have you considered where else you might like to work?"

She knew this was the most important of her con. "Honestly, I'd rather still work here in Quantico than anywhere else. I can't take the job anymore but I've built a life here…I don't want to totally uproot myself."

Chief Strauss nodded, "I'm sure we can find a place for a linguistics expert. Any one of the departments here could use you."

"Before we go thru with this, would you mind if I make two requests of you?" Emily inquired carefully. The Chief regarded her with a thoughtful expression. "It depends on what these requests are, Agent Prentiss."

"Please let me be the one to break the news to my team."

The older woman nodded, "I can allow that. What's your second request?"

Emily took a deep breath before she answered. "Don't transfer me until we find Reid."

"Does your team believe you're very close to determining who your Unsub is and where he might be?" The Chief asked, debating in her head about what to do.

"We have some leads that we're checking out at the moment but nothing exact on our Unsub or his whereabouts." She admitted truthfully. The Chief raised an eyebrow at her. "Then why…"

Emily explained, trying not to sound like she was preaching from a soap box. "I want to help bring him home. I need to work this last case for the BAU before I go…it's the most important one I'll ever be a part of."

Both women sat observing each other, waiting to see what the outcome would be. Finally, Chief Strauss spoke. "I accept your requests Agent Prentiss. As soon as Reid is found we'll transfer you to another department here."

"Thank you ma'am." Emily said calmly, getting to her feet and turning to go.

"Emily?" The older woman's voice called to her once more. She looked back curiously. The Chief watched her intently. "Are you really serious about this?"

The dark haired woman nodded. "Yes ma'am. I've never been more serious about anything in my life."

~*~

"Can you tell me exactly what Otto Tabby looks like, Mr. Jansen?" JJ asked the extremely tall older gentleman who owned the rental house. His tiny wife stood next to him, observing the two FBI agents in front of her.

Mr. Jansen attempted to recall what his tenant looked like the last time he saw him. "He is a pretty tall guy—I'd say about 5'11 at least."

"And bright red hair," Tiny Mrs. Jansen interrupted. "He dyes it himself so it doesn't look that great. I don't know why he does that anyways."

JJ scribbled this information down in her notebook then asked another question, "When did you see Mr. Tabby last?"

The Jansen couple exchanged looks with each other but Mr. Jansen was the one to answer. "I few months ago he came to me and said he would be going vacation for awhile. He paid in advance for the next five months and told me not to worry about cleaning anything. Said he'd take care of it when he got back." He paused then added. "Just so you know, we had no idea that he was involved in anything illegal. We needed money and he was willing to rent the place out for a lot. We should have done a better background check on the guy but he seemed solid. A little off kilter maybe but not someone who would ever kill people."

"We understand." Rossi assured them. "Mr. Tabby is very good at what he does and he'll do whatever it takes to make it happen. You have nothing to worry about."

Both of them looked relieved to be let off the hook. Taking advantage of their relief, JJ asked, "Would you mind if we take a more thorough look around the house?"

Mrs. Jansen spoke for her husband this time. "Go right ahead but please be careful not to break or damage anything. We'd like to be able to rent out the house again in the future."

"We'll be extremely careful." JJ promised them confidently.

"Let us know if you need anything," Mr. Jansen told them helpfully. "We'll be next door at our house. It's the red one."

The couple left Rossi and JJ standing in front of the rental house. They walked up the steps to the front porch and stared at the front door, almost petrified into immobility by a building. The older man turned to the younger woman and said, "No use standing around…we might as well go in." She nodded her agreement but didn't make a move. Rossi knew he had to make the first move so he reached out and gave the doorknob a twist. The door opened slightly and he pushed it open, crossing threshold. JJ followed, no longer intimidated. They walked as carefully as they could. The house was still just as barren as it had been earlier when Rossi paid it a visit. The small blonde looked up at the older agent, "Now what?"

"We search this place from top to bottom and hope that we find something that could help us." Rossi replied, pulling rubber gloves onto his hands. JJ followed suit.

"I'll check out the bedroom." He told her. She nodded in understanding, "I'll be in here."

Rossi disappeared out of sight, leaving JJ with the living room to attend to. She gazed around, trying to decide where to start. Finally, she decided to start tapping on the walls to see if any of them were hollow. After a few minutes of doing this and discovering nothing, she sought something else she could try. There were a few doors in the house which decided to open. One lead to the bathroom which was clean but unfurnished with any personal items, the other went to the laundry room that had a washer and dryer but nothing else, and the last one ended only in a closet.

'_I wonder if there's anything in here.' _JJ thought to herself. She reached up, feeling the top of the shelf over with her fingers. Nothing there so she sunk to the ground and began tapping the closet walls. As she did so, she realized that the carpet looked a little funny. She tugged at it gently and it easily pulled back, revealing a trapdoor in the floor.

"Dave! I've got something!" JJ called out, trying to get Rossi's attention. She quickly pulled up the trapdoor and could see a ladder just a couple of feet below.

"What's up JJ?" Rossi asked, coming to the closet where he promptly observed the trapdoor. "I'm going down there." She informed him confidently.

He quickly replied with, "I'm not so sure that's a good idea."

"There may be valuable evidence down there," JJ argued. "And besides, the door is too narrow for you. I can fit easily."

Rossi sighed, clearly giving in to her demands. "Alright. Take a flashlight down there with you." He held out the contraption to her and she accepted it. Slowly she lowered herself into the hole.

"I'll be up here monitoring you in case you need anything." He reminded her, holding onto her hands as she went down. Her feet finally hit the top of the ladder so Rossi released her and she climbed down the steps. It was pitch dark in the basement so she turned the flashlight on. For the most part, it was an empty room with dirt floors. Then she caught sight of the table to her left that had a few boxes sitting on top of it.

"Are you alright JJ?" Rossi called down to her. She yelled back, "Yeah I'm fine."

Slowly, she walked herself over to the table. The boxes were slightly sealed with old masking tape which peeled off easily. The first box had a bunch of children's toys that looked like they were well loved. The second box had hand drawn pictures that were done by a clumsy hand. One of these was of a girl with brown hair and bright blue eyes. There was a big red X drawn over her. The third box had two picture frames in it and nothing else. The smaller frame held an actual picture of the girl with brown hair and blue eyes—the glass was cracked and had some dried substance on it. The other frame was larger and housed a picture of a smiling man and woman. JJ's breath caught in her throat as her light rested on a specific part of the glass.

"Oh my God." She breathed. There on the glass cover was a fingerprint. It was a real, honest to God finger print that had dried after being made with something sticky. She practically ran back to the ladder and shouted,

"Rossi!"

He called to her in concern, "Are you okay?"

"I found a fingerprint Rossi! We've got this guy! We've got him!"

~*~

After he had finally fallen asleep for what seemed like just a few minutes, Spencer was awoken by screaming. He bolted upright, looking quickly at Gia who had her hands over her ears and was rocking herself. The screaming came from the hidden speakers in the room. Spencer recognized it in horror from Gia's description of the torture their captor inflicted on her. It was a woman being raped.

"Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop." Gia muttered to herself over and over again, eyes wide in terror.

Spencer tried to get thru to her, "Gia look at me. It's okay. Look at me!"

She turned her big, blue eyes to him, looking frantic. He tentatively reached out and removed her hands from her ears, speaking loudly to her. "Listen to me okay? It's gonna be alright. He isn't gonna hurt you. He just wants to scare you. Don't let him."

"He raped me Spencer." She started to cry. He pulled her into his arms, holding a hand to her head.

"It's okay Gia. I won't let him hurt you again. I promise." He just held her close, doing his best to comfort the crying girl. She looked up at him with teary eyes and said, "We have to get out of here Spencer."

"We will." He told her reassuringly. "I know we will."

The screaming finally stopped. Gia wiped off her eyes and Spencer released her from the embrace. She leaned back against the wall, taking a deep breath. After a time, she turned her gaze to Reid. "What do you think?" She whispered. "How can we get out of here?"

Spencer contemplated quietly. "We know of only one way to get out of the room…the door our captor goes thru when he comes in to beat us. He also only comes in after we've consumed the drugged food and water he's left for us."

"How do you think he opens that door?" Gia wondered, staring thoughtfully at the wall opposite them.

"I'm not sure." She watched him thinking and saw the light go on in his head. He turned to her. "Can I ask you something Gia?"

She nodded, "Ask me anything."

"Would you be alright with me asking too much of you?"

"That would depend. What are you asking me to do?" Gia observed him, trying to figure his intentions out.

He began to explain to her his intentions in a hushed tone. "Our captor will only come in if he thinks we're drugged. We have to make him believe we both are so someone can see where the door is and how to open it."

"He'll beat us Spencer. You know he will."

Spencer nodded. "I know. But we have to be willing to do whatever it takes to get out of here. Are you willing?"

She thought about what he proposed. Was she willing to endure the whip for the hope of freedom?

"I'm willing. I'll do it." She got to her feet and grabbed the new glass of water off the table. Carefully, she came to sit back down next to Spencer. Gia inclined her head towards him and whispered, "Pretend to drink Spencer. I'll drink enough for both of us."

Reid looked astonished. "But you can't…"

"You're the smartest one here. If anyone will figure out how to trick him it will be you. I have faith in you." She said the last part so quietly he could barely hear her. He felt flattered and overwhelmed by the trust she had in him.

"Okay," was all he could manage to say. He took the water from her and pretended to drink it. She quickly snatched it and took a large gulp. Now it looked like they had both partaken of the tainted water. Spencer faked the symptoms he usually felt and swayed dangerously, eyes rolling. Gia didn't need to pretend. The double dose she took made it impossible to keep herself upright and she lay immobile on the floor, unable to control her body. Spencer followed her example.

'_What now?' _ He thought to himself.

Suddenly, the wall opposite them flowed with light from an open door. For the first time, Spencer saw their captor. He was a skinny man and very tall. His hair was bright red like fire and hung loosely around his face. Somehow, Spencer felt that he had seen this man before. He knew just from looking at him that when he was younger he had a handsome face. Now it was contorted with rage and darkness. He knew now the drugs were not just for causing fear but also because their captor was afraid he couldn't subdue them otherwise.

"You first Dr. Reid." He said, slipping a dark hood over his face. It took all off Reid's mental strength to keep up the façade of being drugged instead of fighting back. The leather whip burned all his old wounds and bit new ones into his flesh. He attempted to make his reflexes slower and gasped when the leather assaulted his face. His captor then turned to Gia and it took everything within Spencer not to attack the man. He looked at the door, searching with his eyes for something to help them. He found it. On the bottom left side of the door, exposed by an open panel, was a control box. Their captor finished with Gia and bent down beside the panel, flipping a lever down which cause the door to open again. He closed the panel and shut the door behind him.

Spencer turned his gaze to his female companion who was completely lost to the world and said, "We got it." He was in too much pain to get up and check on her. So he gave in to his body's desire and drifted off into sleep.

~*~*~*~

_Heyya15965: Yeah, I'm doing my best to update when I can. Obviously not as regularly as I could over Christmas break but as often as possible! That's always a consolation to me when the team comes out mostly unscathed! Thanks for your sweet comments._

_Nymphadora-CullenBAU: Yeah, I would love that satisfaction as well. He's even my creation and I still despise him! Of course, your mad profiling skills are essential—I don't know what I'd do without you! Do you support the Hotch/Emily pairing as well?_

_The-Vampire-Act: Don't worry about it! I am glad you took the time to review no matter how long the wait was. Thank you! I am very pleased that you liked it. Aw, you're too sweet to me—I thank you! _

_Marie-Ruth: Thank you very much! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will stick around for the future chapters to come! _

Thanks so much for all your positive comments everyone! It means so much to me—really it does. I apologize once more for the long wait before this update…I am only human so I can't do it all! Anyways, keep watching Criminal Minds on CBS and supporting Matthew Gray Gubler! I love every one of you. 


	9. Nine

Bonjour, Ciao, all that jazz! It's HollySophia everyone and yes, I know I'm a terribly slow wretch. Let me assure you that I have been writing for this story during my free time on campus, sitting under a tree and watching the flocks of college students pass me by. Anyways, did anyone besides myself watch Matthew Gray Gubler's 'Mosley Lane'? I was delighted and creeped out all at the same time…if you can understand how this might be possible. Leave me a comment and tell me what you thought—I'd love to know! P.S. All of you who read this story, I simply adore you and all the gorgeous thoughts you share with me. You're amazing! Love,

HollySophia

~*~*~*~

"Hello my love!" Garcia greeted the intensely muscular African-American man as he entered her office. Morgan flashed her a big smile. "Hey baby girl."

"Any news on the home front?" She asked him hopefully. He leaned against her desk, gauging her reaction to what he was about to say. "We found a fingerprint at Otto Tabby's house that we think may belong to our Un-Sub."

Garcia's heart leapt into her throat and she grasped his hand, forcing him to look her in the eye. "Derek, are you serious?"

He nodded. "We sent it to the lab. Hopefully we'll get a hit off of it."

"Oh my God, that's the best news I've heard all day!" She couldn't help but grin. "Is there anything else I can do for you, my gorgeous Adonis?"

"I sure do gorgeous. Would you run this list of names for me and see if there's anything these people have in common?" He handed her a piece of paper that listed all the names of the missing FBI agents. Garcia caught it between her fingers. "Your wish is my command, sugar."

Only a couple of minutes later she had all the information at her fingertips. "What've you got Garcia?" Morgan asked, leaning over her shoulder to gaze at the computer screen. The blonde woman's fingers were flying across her keyboard.

"There are a few similarities I've found with all these people. The first is that they are very similar physically. All the women are a very petite height, slender, brown hair and blue eyes—I'm guessing this is what our other captive agent looks like. The men are tall, skinny, and have brown hair and eyes. Their ages range from early to late twenties and most of them live alone. They've all been taken from states surrounding Virginia except for Joseph Parrott and Summer Kivett—who were taken from Richmond—and Reid and our mystery agent."

Morgan looked over all the agent's faces, trying to come up with something. "Looks like our Un-sub was trying to protect himself by kidnapping agents outside of where he lives. He kidnapped a couple in every state surrounding Virginia while staying inactive within this state itself."

"So what changed?" Garcia wondered. "Why would he start taking people inside Virginia?"

"It wasn't exciting without the element of danger. He wanted more of a challenge and kidnapping agents from his area gave him just what he wanted."

Garcia hesitated before asking her next question. "Do you think any of them are still alive? Summer and Joseph only vanished a couple of months ago."

"They might be for all we know," Morgan tried to placate her. "None of their bodies have turned up."

"You don't believe they are though, do you?" She searched his eyes, looking for truth. Derek mulled his answer over before he spoke it. "Honestly baby girl? I'm not sure what to believe."

***

To say that Hotch was nervous was an understatement. When Chief Strauss had given him a call, asking him to come to her office, the stern-faced man felt like collapsing into his seat or perhaps vomiting to rid himself of the butterflies in his stomach. He was sure that the Chief was going to request his resignation.

'_I'm not sure I'm ready to leave this job just yet.' _He thought to himself.

It was a long trek to Chief Strauss's office. He didn't know how to prepare himself for this; heart pounding like a drum in his chest. Rapping her door with his knuckles, he entered as gracefully as possible. Erin Strauss looked up from her work, glasses perched on her nose.

"Please have a seat Agent Hotchner."

Hotch sat down in the chair across from her desk, gripping the armrest.

"How are you doing?" She asked politely. He really didn't want to engage in small talk but replied, "Fine."

The Chief persisted in this torturous vein. "How's Jack?"

"He's fine."

Obviously sensing he didn't want to chat with her, she got right to the point. "I'm guessing that no one told you why I asked you here."

Hotch shook his head, "No."

She sighed, removing her glasses and pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose. He drew a breath, bracing for the worst.

"Aaron, I don't want to beat around the bush here. I expect full honesty from my people and I want to show the same behavior towards them."

Another deep breath.

"Emily requested a transfer to another department."

A lead weight seemed to have dropped into his stomach. The surprise was evident in his voice as he said, "What do you mean?"

"She came here and informed me that the job is becoming too much for her. She can't take what it requires of her anymore." Erin Strauss observed the man with a discerning eye. She knew he was stunned. "This is final Aaron. Emily was very adamant about her decision."

He nodded stiffly. "Of course."

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this." She said sympathetically.

"It's not a problem. Agent Prentiss has every right to pursue any interest she has in other departments."

Chief Strauss decided to end this conversation as pleasantly as she could. "Thank you for coming, Agent Hotchner."

Hotch nodded and stepped out of her office. His whole objective now was to find Emily. He had to know why she was doing this.

***

Morgan and Garcia sat in her office, going over the different FBI couples that their Un-Sub had kidnapped, trying to make sense of something…anything really. As they did so, Garcia's computer started beeping insistently. She swung over in her desk chair, fingers flying over her keyboard.

"What is it baby girl?" Morgan asked curiously.

"The lab techs got the results back from the fingerprint you guys recovered." She explained, clicking open a file she'd been sent. The information that appeared before her eyes caused her mouth to drop open.

"Oh my God."

Morgan came to her side and she read the email to him. "The person who that fingerprint belongs to is Koty Abbott—an FBI agent who works for the Human Resources Department in Quantico, Virginia."

"Are you serious? The bastard who took Reid has been right under our noses this whole time?" Morgan growled angrily, pulling out his phone in a gut reaction to this news. He quickly tapped a number on speed dial.

Rossi answered, "What is it Morgan?"

"Our Un-Sub is an FBI agent named Koty Abbott. He works upstairs in Human Resources."

There was a long paused before Rossi replied. "Please tell me I heard correctly. The man who kidnapped Reid has been a couple of floors away from us during all of this?"

"Yes." Morgan nodded, fury burning.

He could practically hear the gears turning in Rossi's head. "Morgan, go upstairs and take Koty Abbott into custody. I'll alert Hotch and the others. Also, have Garcia look up this guy and get all the information on him she can find."

"Will do Rossi." He slapped his cell shut and turned to the blonde woman beside him. "Garcia, I need you to…"

"Already on it, hun." She replied quickly, tapping furiously away at her keys. "Go get him."

If Morgan had run out of Garcia's office any faster he would have been flying.

***

Emily stared at the whiteboard in the conference room, trying to look at the case from a different perspective. She pointed the dry erase marker over the different parts of information with the intent of discovering a new connection. As she focused her mind intently on this, she felt a presence at her back.

She didn't even turn around as she asked, "What do you need?"

A deep, husky voice replied, "I need to talk with you."

Emily turned around to view Hotch standing in the doorway, looking more grim than usual. If that were possible. "What do you need Hotch?"

He shut the conference room door behind him before he said, "I just had a talk with Chief Strauss."

That was all he said and Emily paled, clenching the marker in her fist too tightly. Hotch recognized in her face that she felt cornered. She managed to stammer out, "What did she want?"

"She told me the truth Emily. About your decision." He told her quietly, observing her reaction. She looked terribly guilty.

"I didn't want her to tell you."

Hotch came close to her. "Why? Why were you trying to keep me in the dark?"

"I kept everyone in the dark. But I especially didn't want to tell you because you're burdened with so many things already. I didn't want to add another one for you to deal with."

He met her gaze with a stronger one of his own. "You are not a burden to me Emily Prentiss. I want to be involved in your decisions, especially an important one like this."

She nodded remorsefully, "I know."

"Why did you do it? After everything that this team—that we've been thru, why did you ask to transfer?" Hotch asked, trying to figure her out.

Emily sighed, running her long fingers thru her dark hair. "Aaron, you and I both know that Chief Strauss would do anything to protect this department. When Agent Harper was killed, we were in hot water. Both our jobs were at risk because she suspected that was more to the situation than a supervisor protecting his agent."

Her eyes pleaded with him. "I had to do this Hotch. This job means so much more to you than it does to me—I couldn't stand by and watch you lose everything you've worked for."

He took her hand into his, "I don't want to lose _you_, Emily."

"You aren't. I'm just transferring to another department." She looked deep in his eyes, trying to convey her intentions. "I am not leaving you; I'm trying to protect you."

Hotch gave her a wry twist of the lips. "Why does everyone on this team insist on playing the hero?"

"Because, it's who we are." Emily replied, smiling faintly at him. There was a moment where they simply looked at each other and then Hotch leaned into her, placing a kiss on her lips which she gladly returned. They let this go on for a few precious, secret moments before they broke apart.

"I still have to tell everyone else what's going on." She said with resignation. Hotch nodded, "It can wait until after we get Reid home."

"I just hope that print JJ found will get us somewhere. " Every fiber of Emily's being was desperate for a break in the case.

Hotch nodded in agreement, "Me too." Right then, his phone rang. He checked caller ID; it was Rossi. "Yeah Dave?"

"We finally caught a break Hotch. The print matched an agent who works in the HR department upstairs."

Dread knotted Hotch's stomach. "The man who took Reid has been here thru this whole thing?"

"He sure has. I sent Morgan upstairs to take him into custody. We'll interrogate him and figure out where to go from there."

"Alright," Hotch agreed. "Have you alerted the others?"

Rossi sounded like he was shuffling thru papers at his desk. "I've told you and JJ but Emily won't answer her phone."

Hotch glanced over at the raven haired woman beside him. "Don't worry, I'll find her. Right now, just focus on bringing our Un-Sub in."

"I'll call you when we have him."

Hotch snapped his phone shut and turned to his companion. "We caught our break Emily."

***

Morgan didn't realize that he barreled his way into the Human Resources office until he noticed the sudden fright on the blonde secretary's face. "Sorry about that," he apologized "I didn't mean to scare you."

She waved it off. "It's fine. What can I help you with?"

"I need to speak with Koty Abbott. Is he in?"

He had a feeling that she must be new because her gaze darted around, looking like she was searching for backup. A petite woman with a black bob haircut walked past with a stack of files and the secretary called to her. "Jessica!"

Jessica came over, "What do you need Amanda?"

"You work with Koty Abbott right?" Amanda inquired earnestly. Jessica nodded, looking puzzled about why she was being asked this question. "Yeah I do, why do you ask?"

"Because this man here," she pointed at Morgan "is looking for him."

Jessica sized up Morgan. "And who are you exactly?"

"Special Supervisory Agent Derek Morgan. I'm with the Behavioral Analysis Unit." Morgan explained, trying to rush the small woman along in the conversation.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you but Koty hasn't been in all week." Jessica said apologetically. "He caught the flu so he's doing his work from home while he recovers."

Morgan muttered to himself, "Damn."

Jessica seemed to have a sudden revelation. "What do you want with Koty anyways? Is he in some sort kind of trouble?"

He looked at her gravely. "Yes ma'am, he's in a lot of trouble. We have evidence that he kidnapped one of our agents and is holding him hostage."

The small, raven haired woman blanched. "That can't be right. Koty would never do something like that. Are you sure about your information?"

Morgan nodded, "We're absolutely positive."

She clasped a hand to her mouth. "Oh my God."

Before she could go into a catatonic state, he asked, "Could you please show me his desk? I need to collect any information that could help us."

Jessica nodded quickly, "Follow me."

She led the way into a back row of cubicles and pointed to the one on the far outside. "This is Koty's desk. Go thru whatever you need to and let me know if you need anything." She ran off in a hurry, leaving Morgan to do a little detective work. The desk was relatively clean and organized and it seemed that everything had a place where it belonged. He rummaged thru most of the drawers, finding paperwork and various other desk supplies which obviously belonged there. There was one drawer that was locked tight. Morgan threw caution to the wind and broke the lock on the drawer. Finally, it seemed that everything had been unearthed.

"We got you man." He murmured to himself, fingering the items in the drawer.

There was a file labeled Spencer Reid that contained pictures and typed information and another labeled Gia Rosenwood with the same sort of contents. Morgan pulled out a picture, viewing a petite woman with long auburn hair getting coffee at a diner. He definitely recognized her from the picture that Koty Abbott had left in his house. He grabbed both the files and went back up to the front where Jessica and Amanda the secretary were gabbing in hushed tones. Once they caught sight of Morgan they quickly pulled apart.

"Yes Agent Morgan?" Jessica said, her voice breaking unevenly.

"Could you give me his address please?"

She quickly scribbled something onto a sheet of paper and handed it over to him. He grabbed the paper and muttered, "Thanks" before he quickly left the HR department. His cell phone started to ring as he made his way to the elevator so he picked up. "Agent Morgan."

It was Hotch. "Do you have Koty Abbott in custody?"

"He hasn't been to work all week but I found evidence in his office that he was stalking Reid and another agent, uh…" He looked at the file again. "Gia Rosenwood. I got Abbott's address from a girl in his office. We can go get him Hotch."

Determination burned in Hotch's voice as he said, "I'll have everyone meet down at the cars. We're going to get Reid back."

***

Gia felt really groggy and sore and wanted to continue sleeping yet something inside her urged her into wakefulness. She felt someone shaking her arm and heard an awkward but youthful voice say excitedly, "Gia! Wake up!"

She slowly opened her eyes, trying to adjust to the dim lighting from the lantern which seemed un-naturally bright. "God, I feel like I got hit by a truck." She moaned, slowly attempting to sit upright.

"No, just a five foot eight man with a whip." Reid replied, crouching down in front of her. She knew he was checking to make sure she was alright but at the moment she wasn't sure. Suddenly, what he just said dawned on her.

"You saw him?" She looked at him in disbelief. He nodded in response. "Yeah, I did. He's just a man Gia, nothing more."

"Finally a face to the villain." Gia murmured to herself. Then hopefully she lifted her eyes to him and asked, "Did you…?" She didn't have to finish her sentence. Spencer knew exactly what she wondered about.

"Yes," he nodded. "I found out how he opens the door."

He was surprised to see a few tears spill down her face. "What's wrong?"

Her ocean blues met his honey and chocolate eyes. "It's almost over Spencer. We're nearly free."

"Should we wait until you're in less pain before we try to leave?" Reid suggested, observing her curiously.

Gia violently shook her head, "No, I'll be fine. We need to get out of here."

"Okay, let me help you." Spencer pulled her gently to her feet and helped her to the other side of the room. With all his strength, Spencer pulled on the panel concealing the control box. It wasn't budging so Gia reached over and they pulled together. Finally the panel gave way with a tremendous grinding of metal. Spencer flipped the switch down and to their relief and joy the door swung open to the outside.

"Let's get the hell out of here." Gia muttered passionately. Reid made excellent use of his field experience and checked that the corridor was clear before he helped Gia out into it. "Where do we go?" Gia wondered aloud, looking to her left, then her right. "There are so many doors."

Spencer gave it some thought before he said, "I guess we start trying doors." He couldn't help but wonder which door looked less likely to have a killer behind it.

"How about you try one and I'll try another?" Gia suggested. Spencer nodded, "Okay. Just be careful."

They both went to doors on opposite sides, placing fingers over the metal handles. Spencer's opened easily but Gia's was stuck so she pushed it hard and it finally opened. The stench in Spencer's room wafted horribly at him. He covered his nose with his hand. "What is that awful smell?" As he further opened the door, the reason for the foul odor was made known. A man lay on one end of the room, his wrists crusted with dried blood like the floor around him. A woman, splayed out at an odd angle, resided at the other end of the room. Spencer could see that her skull was smashed in.

"Spencer." Gia's voice drew his attention from the macabre sight before him. "You need to come look at this."

He came to her side, suddenly stricken with horror and nausea. This room was covered in blood. The man and woman here lay twisted on the floor, eyes wide. The man's neck had been snapped and the woman had been stabbed over and over again. Gia couldn't help it…she vomited. Spencer quickly shut the door.

"Oh my God, he wants do that to us," she turned her wide eyes to him. "Spencer, he wants to slaughter us!"

"Gia, you have to calm down. Keep your wits about you, okay?" Spencer had his hands firmly on her shoulders, making sure she looked right into his eyes. "Okay?"

She nodded, "I'm sorry, I'll try to be calm. But right now, can we focus on getting out of here?"

"Sure. We'll have to keep opening doors." He reminded her cautiously.

"I know. Let's do it already."

Every door but the one on the far left end they opened. Out of the seven doors they opened, six of them contained dead couples. 12 people. Their captor wasn't just crazy, he was a serial killer. They reached the last door and stood, just staring blankly at it. The thought that there might be another 2 bodies behind it had crossed both their minds. "We have to check." Gia said, glancing over at the lanky man beside her. "I know." Reid replied, trying not to let dread get the better of him. He reached for the handle, slowly turning it to the right. His heart pounded uncontrollably and he felt sure Gia could hear it. The room was empty; not even blood to dirty it up. Reid was relieved.

"Spencer, I know this room." Gia said, staring into the expanse before her.

"You do?"

She nodded, "Yeah. He kept me in here."

A revelation dawned on Reid. "Did you say there was a window in here?" Spencer questioned, walking into the room. He turned all the way around, seeing nothing. Then he looked back at Gia. "Are you coming?" She hesitated a moment, then replied, "Yeah."

Slowly, she stepped in, surveying the room. "The window was right here." Fingering the wall, she made contact with plywood. "He boarded up the window, Spencer."

"Let's pull it down then."

Spencer came beside her and helped pull the wood off the window. It was cheap wood so it came apart easily. The moonlight was suddenly visible thru the glass and Gia gasped, "Oh my God Spencer, I can see outside." She pulled the window latch to the right and the glass pane opened upward. The cool night air blew on her face and she wondered why she had ever taken it for granted. "Spencer, get over here. I'm getting you out."

"What?" Reid's voice broke unevenly as he stared at her.

"You heard me, come here. I'm gonna give you a boost."

Spencer's concern was very evident on his face. "What about you?"

She looked at him like it was supposed to be obvious, "You'll pull me up after you're out. Now, climb up."

Gia laced her fingers together for him and boosted him up to the window. He held the window open, shimmying thru carefully as he could. Finally, he was thru. It was very dark outside; the clouds in the sky veiled the brightness of moon. Spencer turned back, reaching down to Gia. "Hold your hands up."

The small woman reached her hands up and he grasped them tightly, straining as hard as he could to pull her up. Unfortunately, Spencer really couldn't muster any strength because he hadn't eaten or had water in a long while. "Gia, I'm so tired. I just can't do it." She dropped her arms, thinking hard about what to do. Suddenly, an idea dawned on her. "I'll be right back." She darted quietly out of the room.

"Gia, wait!" Spencer whispered after her. It took about a minute before she came back, sliding the wood chair with her. The lanky agent gave her an encouraging smile, "Good idea!" She scooted the chair under the window and stepped up onto it. He reached Gia easily and pulled her thru the window. Finally, they were both standing on solid ground again.

"Come on," Spencer urged her. "Let's get out of here."

They began picking their way carefully away from their captor's house in this wooded terrain. The two of them hadn't even gone five feet before a blood curdling scream resonated from the ranch style house. "I think our captor has noticed our absence." Spencer commented, breathing heavily.

"Now what do we do?" Gia glanced around then back at Spencer with wide eyes.

They had only seconds to save their lives.

~*~*~*~

_Marie-Ruth: Indeed! He's quite fantastic, is he not?_

_RelaxCat: I definitely will! Thank you. _

_LadyMidnight2268: Oh dear, I think I caught myself blushing. Thank you so much for your wonderful comment! It was spectacular and absolutely made my day. I'm grateful that you take the time to read and review!_

_The-vampire-act: Yeah, Gia has the problem where you can't really like her all the time because she's an emotional basket case. I'm delighted that you love the story—it means a lot to me and I thank you for it!_

_Keira15: Thank you so much! I'm doing my best and hopefully won't let you down! _

_LionInAComa: Wow, your enthusiasm is fantastic! I'm glad you're excited about the story! Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter._

_Hpenchantress: It's certainly wonderful to know I can cause you to obsess over my story. Thanks for the great comment!_

_Beachchick4: Of course, Reid is a crafty fellow. Bless you for your kind words—I appreciate them much! _

_Reidy: Gracias! I hope you enjoyed the update! _

Well everyone, I certainly hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm on spring break this week which is very exciting—despite the fact that it snowed cats and dogs all yesterday. But I love a challenge anyways! Thank you all once again for leaving such gorgeous reviews for me—they really give me a great deal of joy! Let me know what you thought of this chapter and join me next time as we continue our quest to reunite Reid with his team and stop the evil Koty Abbott from succeeding in his wicked schemes. Hopefully that didn't sound too cheesy…oh well, I said it and I can't take it back now!

See you next time everyone!


	10. Ten

Happy Thursday! I trust that everyone is having a splendid week? I finally got around to typing up this next chapter and I'm incredibly thrilled—this whole story is like my love child so I basically adore it. Did anyone else watch the recent CM episode called 'Rite of Passage?' I genuinely thought it was one of the best ones this season! And of course, the episode that introduced the new team? Loved it! I'm really excited to watch the spinoff show and see how it goes. It could never be as good as our original Criminal Minds but I think it will prove itself in time. And if you don't follow any of the actors on Twitter (do it), I just found out that Tim Curry—yes, THE TIM CURRY—will be on the CM season finale! Get excited everyone!

Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this next chapter and please drop me a line with your thoughts! You're amazing. Love,

HollySophia

~*~*~*~

"Quick, down this way!" Reid hurried Gia into the trees, going down the hill that led away from the house. The darkness made it nearly impossible to see but they charged thru as fast they could. While they rushed, Gia tripped over a rock and rolled her ankle, landing hard as all the wind was knocked out of her.

"Gia!" Spencer cried, quickly dropping to her side.

"I'm okay." She said, trying to get to her feet. The pain was terrible and she had to bite her lip hard to keep from screaming. Right then, from somewhere not too far from their position, someone shrieked like a banshee. Spencer knew their captor was close. He made his decision in a split second.

He touched his companion's hand and fixed his eyes on hers, saying, "Gia, I want you to head down the hill away from here, okay?"

"But what about you?"

"I'm gonna draw him in the other direction; hopefully that'll give you a chance to get away."

The petite brunette looked horrified. "But Spencer…"

"I promised not to let him hurt you again. I don't plan on breaking that promise."

He helped her to her feet, leaning her against a tree. "Go Gia. I'll draw him off."

Reid turned, vanishing into the darkness. Gia waited for a few moments before she began slowly picking her way down the hill.

***

"Where exactly are we headed again?" JJ asked Rossi, who was driving the large, black suburban they rode in.

"Morgan said it's a small town called Ashley—barely 3,000 people live there. It's about half an hour away from Aquia Harbour."

The blonde woman sighed, "It still amazes me that no matter how small a town is, people still can't recognize the mark of a serial killer in their community."

"Ignorance is bliss." Rossi remarked, speeding to pass a car in the next lane.

JJ nodded, "It sure is."

Just when both agents thought it would be a quiet ride to Ashley, Emily spoke up from behind them.

"Can I tell you both something?"

"Of course." Rossi replied, more focused on his driving than his teammate.

Her voice was full of incredible vulnerability as she added, "In confidence."

JJ's interest was piqued now. "You have our word that we won't tell anyone."

The raven-haired woman took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for all hell to break loose. "I'm transferring out of the BAU."

Rossi nearly careened off the road but caught himself just in time. JJ turned around in her seat, eyes wide. "You're not serious, are you?"

Emily nodded her response. "I am. I have it all arranged with Chief Strauss."

The anger in Rossi's voice was unmistakable. "Emily, if this is about Hotch…"

"Why would this be about Hotch?" JJ questioned, looking back and forth between Rossi and Emily.

"It's not. This is all my decision…Hotch had nothing to do with it." Emily replied calmly.

Rossi looked at her in his rearview mirror, eyes narrowed. "You can't fool a profiler Emily. I know you're lying."

She held up her hands in defense. "You don't understand why, Dave. This job means more to him than it ever could to me. I can move on if I lose it—Hotch would be paralyzed."

"You love him." JJ murmured, all the pieces she'd seen over the past few months suddenly coming together.

Emily felt a sudden desire to prove something to her teammates. "I'm not leaving because of guilt or some sense that I owe him something. I do love Hotch and I'll do whatever it takes to protect him. Even if it requires me to give up this job…he's worth it."

"How could he not think of you in all this? Why would he let you throw away everything you've worked for without a fight?" Rossi was very angry, tightening his fingers around the steering wheel.

"I didn't tell him I was going to do this." Emily admitted. "I knew he would have stopped me if I did. He was already planning on taking a leave of absence when I made the decision."

JJ was stunned, for practically the millionth time that day, when her fellow agent said that. "Why?"

"Because of Jerry Harper's death. Chief Straus was launching an investigation into what happened at the request of SWAT. Hotch and I knew that she would discover our relationship eventually and we would undoubtedly be suspended or even fired. He believed that if he went on a leave of absence that it would ease the pressure the department was under. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it would be the end of his job here if he did that. The only way to protect him from destroying his career was for me to leave the BAU." She looked Rossi and JJ straight in the eyes and said, "Sometimes love requires selflessness. I'm willing to give up what I have here to protect him because I love him more than I've ever loved anyone."

Emily could see that JJ was deeply moved despite her feelings of anger and betrayal. Rossi understood why she was doing this now but he hardly agreed with her. He was resigned to her decision yet she knew in her heart that the wise, experienced man could never agree with what she had done.

"It's your decision." JJ finally said, shrugging her shoulder in resignation. "If this is what you want to do then I'll try to be alright with it."

"Thank you." Emily inclined her head thankfully in her blonde teammate's direction. Then she looked back to Rossi. He was purposefully avoiding her gaze, staring straight ahead at the road. "I know you don't agree with what I'm doing Dave. I'm sorry if I disappointed you in some way or made you feel betrayed. That was never my intention." She glanced back and forth between the two people in the front seat. "I consider this team my family and I care deeply about each of you. This is simply something I need to do…I hope you'll understand."

She stopped, hoping for something. Some sort of sign that she was doing the right thing. Finally, Rossi slipped his hand off the steering wheel and gripped Emily's hand with it, giving her a squeeze. "Go with your gut Prentiss. Mine's never failed me and yours won't either. You'll be alright."

Emily gratefully returned Rossi's gesture, feeling a sort of relief inside. "Thank you Rossi. Thank you."

***

Reid knew for sure now that his captor was no longer contained within the house; every light within the house seemed to be on and the front door lay wide open. He carefully crept over to the side of house, trying to catch sight of the man who held him captive. Movement a few feet away caught Spencer's eye. The man with the flaming red hair was roaming the edge of the woods with a baseball bat. The lanky FBI agent decided in that moment to pull the most reckless move of his life.

"Hey! Over here!" He screamed loudly at the man. The crimson haired Koty Abbott spotted him and Spencer ran. They were both tall and wiry so they were evenly matched when it came to speed but fortunately, Reid got a head start. He ran behind the house, breathing hard as he searched for an escape. In a split second he caught sight of the back door and darted inside. Now he was in the kitchen and quickly got out of sight from the door. There was junk strewn across the room which included a gas canister. Spencer grabbed it, spreading the liquid all over the kitchen floor before ducking next to the door. Koty burst into the room, slipping on the slick floor and landed on his back. The panicked Reid practically flew out the back door. Seething with rage, the fiery red head flipped over onto his stomach, got to his knees and took off after the lanky brunette.

'_What now?' _Spencer thought, running around the large van parked in the front yard to rest for a moment on the trunk. He cautiously peered around to see if the coast was clear and got smacked in the back. Reid hit the ground, rolling quickly as he narrowly avoided the furious man's next blow.

"Stay still you little snake!" Koty snarled, charging at Spencer. Reid jumped to his feet, shoving the other man against the van as the baseball bat fell forgotten on the ground. The red head pummeled Spencer angrily with his fists and he was able to block and avoid until his captor landed a punch to his face. It was enough to distract him and get him knocked into the dirt.

"I've got you now!" Koty howled menacingly, kicking Reid in the gut. He got another kick in before someone behind him said, "Hey buddy."

The fiery red head turned around and a shot rang out, bullet grazing his upper arm. Gia took off as quickly as she could; he attempted to follow her but Spencer tripped him. He jumped to his feet and grabbed Reid tightly around the neck, ignoring the burning pain in his arm.

"Come out, come out Gia!" Koty shouted, looking carefully around the yard. "You don't want to abandon poor Dr. Reid to die, do you?"

"Don't listen to him! Run!" Spencer screamed into the darkness. His captor harshly pulled Reid's long hair in punishment for this outburst. "No, do listen to me Gianna! Listen to me very well!" He paused, listening for any sound that she was near. "I'm going to kill Dr. Reid—slowly and painfully. Just like all those FBI agents in my basement. And I will make you watch. You'll cry and beg but I'm gonna butcher him anyways. Then I'll kill you too Gia. I'll use my favorite hunting knife to draw pictures onto you!"

He backed against the van's trunk, sneering at the mental image in his head. "And before I take your life for good, I'm gonna rape you."

Koty laughed manically then even harder as Spencer struggled against his constrictive grasp. "Does that bother you Dr. Reid? Don't worry; we're familiar with each other. I took her innocence once," he shouted as he said this, "and I'll take it again!"

From somewhere above his head, Gia screamed, "Hey you bitch! Take this!"

All at once, several things happened. Spencer broke free from Koty's grasp—smashing his foot with his heel and scratching the place where the bullet had grazed his arm—and darted away from him. Koty screamed in pain and suddenly, Gia dropped a lit match onto him. The fuel on his clothes and the fire combined, igniting into a blaze. He gave a blood-curdling shriek, running around madly as the fire consumed him. He ran towards his house and Gia met him with her gun, firing another round that hit him in the shoulder. Koty whirled around to escape and Spencer slammed the baseball bat into his face. In a rush of panic and terrible pain, the man charged into his house to escape them.

"Spencer! Run!" Gia screamed, charging quickly from the house. Reid realized what was about to happen and followed her as fast as he could.

In a blaze of light and noise, the house exploded. The shockwave that followed knocked them both flat on the ground. Finally, the only sound left was the burning remains of the ranch style house which were illuminated by the unveiled moon. Spencer turned his head in Gia's direction. She was breathing heavily and her eyes were closed. "Are you okay?" He asked, concerned for her. She nodded, looking at him with a look of relief on her face. "I'm absolutely fine."

"What about your ankle?"

She gently prodded it and winced. "It's been better."

Reid came over and helped her get to her feet, supporting her on his shoulder. "You didn't listen to me. I told you to run."

She nodded. "I know you did. But honestly, I couldn't leave you here by yourself. No matter how badly you wanted to play the hero."

"It wasn't about being the hero." Spencer insisted. "I promised I would protect you."

"And you did a spectacular job of it." Gia assured him, patting his shoulder with her hand. "There are just some things friends don't let friends face alone."

He raised an eyebrow, trying to discern her meaning. "Is that what we are then? Friends, I mean."

Gia twisted her lips into a wry smile. "I guess so. Since we didn't die I'd think so."

The lanky genius didn't know why he chuckled over that. "Right."

"Come on," the petite woman motioned her way "Let's get out of here."

"On foot? But what about your ankle?" Spencer was incredulous. "You won't be able to walk very long on it."

There was a glint of silver as she dangled a key ring in front of his face, looking slightly smug. "When you were leading the crazy on a wild goose chase, I swiped his keys. You drive, okay?" She tossed the keys his way and he caught them easily with his long fingers.

"Do you ever stop defying expectations?" He questioned her.

She grinned at him, "Never."

***

After Spencer finally got the massive, white van started they drove down the road behind the house's corpse for a few miles before they reached a little town. It consisted of a few houses, a motel, grocery store, a diner and a gas station. Spencer parked in front of the little gas station and helped Gia inside. A rather gruff looking man stood behind the counter, reading a newspaper.

"Excuse me, sir?" Spencer attempted to catch the man's attention. He folded the paper over and looked at the two of them. They looked like hell and he let them know it.

"Damn. What happened to y'all? Get into a bar fight or something?"

"Just an accident. Could you tell me where we are?" Spencer's appearance apparently didn't scare the man away because he told him. "Ashley. Just outside of Aquia Harbour."

Gia brushed her auburn hair out of her eyes as she inquired, "Are we still in Virginia? This kind of seems like the middle of nowhere."

The man looked at her like she was crazy. "Did the accident knock out your memory or something? Course you're still in Virginia. And this sure as hell ain't the middle of nowhere. Ashley may be a small town but we're a very proud town."

"Of course." Gia said apologetically. "I'm sorry for my confusion. I haven't lived here very long."

The older gentleman nodded towards her, "No problem little lady. Now, what can I do for yah?"

"Do you think we could use your phone?" Spencer asked hopefully. The man shrugged, "I don't see why not. Just give me your names—I'm trying to keep track of my phone users."

"I'm Spencer Reid—that's R-e-i-d, and her name is…"

Gia interrupted to say, "I'm Gianna Rosenwood, sir." The old man nodded, muttering to himself. "Alright, go ahead. The phone's in the back room."

The small brunette waved Reid off. "I'll stay here Spencer, you go ahead."

Reid slipped behind the curtain that led to the back room. He thought to himself that this town must be very old because the phone had a cord and looked like something from a golden age Hollywood film. He dialed the number he always called when he was in trouble. It was probably the closest Spencer had ever gotten to a miracle when he heard the familiar voice say, "Aaron Hotchner."

He didn't remember how to talk. "Hotch?"

"Reid? Is that you?" Hotch sounded concerned and alternately hopeful.

"Yes it's me."

Hotch breathed a sigh of relief and Spencer swore he could hear someone yelling in the background. "Thank God. Where are you?"

"In a town called Ashley, just outside of Aquia Harbour. I'm in their gas station. There's another FBI agent here with me—she was kidnapped too."

Hotch muttered something that Reid couldn't hear, then, "Okay, here's what I want you to do. We're already en route to Ashley so I need you to stay put until we can get to you. It won't be very long."

"We'll be here." Spencer replied, trying to mask his happiness at hearing his boss's voice. The phone line went dead and he felt strangely glad that the unexpected ending of phone conversations still went on at

When he stepped back out, he discovered that Gia had engaged the gas station attendant in a conversation about his family. Spencer sidled up to Gia and said, "My team should be here at anytime."

She smiled cheerily at him. "Great!" Then she turned back to the man, "Hey Hank, do you have any ice? My ankle's pretty swollen."

Hank thought for a moment then remembered something. "Yes we do! Hang on just a tic." He disappeared into the back room but not before he offered, "We have a bathroom over there if you two want to clean some of that mess off."

"Thanks." Gia said. She turned to Spencer now. "You can go ahead and use the restroom."

He felt surprised, "Are you sure?"

"Trust me; I don't want to know how bad I look. At least, not yet." She smiled jokingly at him. He smiled back. Finally, Hank returned with an ice pack and chair. "Here yah go. You'll probably need this after what you've been thru."

"Oh trust me, "Gia said vaguely "You have no idea."

~*~*~

_The-vampire-act: _ _They are indeed free! I'm very glad that you love this story—it means a lot to me. And yes, Mosley Lane was very much a "Gubler" episode. Utterly amazing!_

_Hpenchantress: Yeah, I'm so glad they figured it out too! Reid and Gia are definitely gonna be alright—have no fear!_

_LionInAComa: Haha, I love that you're yelling actually. It's rather amusing. Thanks for getting so stoked about this!_

_Nymphadora-CullenBAU: I absolutely agree. There was barely any blood spilled yet I was terrified and glued to my seat—a rare feat indeed! Of course, I can imagine the look on Morgan's face but man, his fury would be frightening to behold I think. On a side note, I'm always impressed that you spot my references so easily! Yes, it is from 500 Days of Summer—fantastic movie!_

_Marie-Ruth: Thank you very much! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!_

_Beachchick4: Aw, you're too sweet—thank you! The team always has a knack for showing up at exactly the right time, so I wouldn't worry about that._

Thanks to all of you who are reading and reviewing—I genuinely appreciate it! I'm cranking out one more chapter of Que Sera Sera before it's all said and done. Let me know how you felt about this story and PLEASE, feel free to shoot me ideas for future stories! Keep watching our favorite BAU team everyone! 


	11. Eleven

Feliz Navidad all you ladies and gentlemen! I'm excited and sad to see this last chapter of QSS finally come into being. It's been a wonderful ride but rest assured my lovelies, we've only just begun! I have many more story ideas that are rolling out as we speak and I'm terribly ecstatic about them! So anyways, please enjoy this last chapter and let me know how you feel about it. I love you all very much and I am so grateful that you've stuck with me despite my slow tendencies. Thanks for spreading the light!

Love,

HollySophia

XXX

Spencer was the first to hear the sirens. His ears detected the piercing wail not too far away and he stretched in his seat to look out the front window of the gas station. A cherry red fire truck went flying past; sirens shrieking, lights flashing.

Hank looked up suddenly. "I wonder were that fire truck is headed?"

"Maybe that house on the hill." Gia suggested cautiously. "I think I saw smoke when we were headed in here."

The old man looked stunned, "You mean Koty Abbott? Oh God, I hope not. The poor kid's been thru enough in his life without a house fire to mess him up."

"How so?" Spencer asked, curious to know more about their captor.

"Well," Hank scratched his scalp from underneath his ball cap. "He lost his parents in a car accident when he was real young and his granny had to take care of him. That woman was the wickedest snake that ever lived. She hated him and did everything she could to make his life a living hell. Not that he needed any help for that. Things were just as bad for him in school as at home. Koty was always the kid at risk of dropping out—and probably even doing something violent to himself or other people. I'm amazed that he made it thru high school."

He paused, thinking to himself before he continued. "Anyways, when he was older Koty had gotten a criminal justice degree and joined up with the FBI. He even got himself a lady friend from his office. She kinda looked like you Gia!"

Spencer noticed the blood drain from Gia's face. He moved closer to her in an effort to put her at ease.

"So it was good for a while?" Spencer asked the older man.

He nodded. "Oh yes, it was. Until his girl cheated on him with another agent and he got transferred to Quantico. He's been living here ever since." Hank sighed sadly. "You never think somebody could be that unlucky. At least till' you meet Koty."

"Yeah," Gia muttered to herself. "Unlucky."

Spencer heard sirens again and went to the window for a look. He saw two black SUV's flying in their direction from far down the road. He turned to his female companion, "My team's here, Gia."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Great."

With a curious look, Hank asked her, "Y'all with the police or something?"

"No, uh, we're with the FBI." Reid replied, his voice breaking unevenly.

"Just like Koty." The old man commented in astonishment.

The small brunette closed her mouth into a tight line. "Yes, just like Koty."

All in a moment, the front doors to the gas station burst open and Morgan came flying inside. His eyes turned to Reid and his whole face lit up. "Reid!" He caught the lanky man in a strong, bone-crushing embrace. So many emotions ran thru the genius it was impossible to sort thru them all. "I'm glad you're okay," Morgan released Reid, giving him a once-over. "Even if you look like hell."

Reid gave him a wry smile. Just then, the rest of the team flooded into the room. JJ rushed to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as she said, "Oh thank God! I was afraid we'd never see you again!"

"I'm fine JJ." Spencer reassured her. She gently released him and he winced slightly from the bruises. "Really, I'm fine."

He glanced around the room, seeing the familiar faces of his family that he knew so well. Normally he wasn't one for sentimentality but he had never been so happy. He knew, finally, that his torment was over. Then he remembered Gia.

"Everyone, this is Agent Gia Rosenwood." He pointed to the small woman who sat in the chair, icing her ankle. She smiled faintly at his team. "And Hank Marshall, the owner of this establishment."

Hotch broke ranks and put out a hand for Hank to shake. "Thank you for taking care of our people, Mr. Marshall."

"Of course sir." Hank beamed proudly. "I'm glad to do it."

JJ tapped her supervisor's shoulder, "We'd better get them to a hospital, Hotch."

In response, Morgan went to Gia's side and said, "I'll help you to the car, Agent Rosenwood."

"Please, call me Gia."

Morgan nodded. "Alright, Gia." He wrapped Gia's arm around his shoulder and gripped her waist with his hand. They slowly walked out to the car but not before Gia called out over her shoulder, "It was good to meet you Hank! I hope you and Martha enjoy your vacation!"

Hank tipped his baseball cap in her direction. "Thank you ma'am. Come and see us anytime!"

"I will!" Gia promised, letting Morgan lead her out the front door as she limped to avoid hurting her ankle further.

"Is she always like this?" JJ whispered to Reid. He whispered back, "You have no idea."

The BAU team left Ashley behind in the dust of their entourage.

XXX

Reid didn't realize that he had been sleeping but when he began to open his eyes they felt heavy with sleep. He blinked, looking around at his surroundings. It was so strange that he was no longer trapped inside a room with four walls. In the hospital room where he currently resided there was a window next to his bed and a door that led out into a corridor and he felt like he could really breathe again. Just then, David Rossi walked into the doorway and rapped gently on the door. "Knock, knock." He said with a smile, coming to stand beside Reid's bed.

"How are you feeling?" Rossi asked the lanky young man, who was cocooned in blankets on a hospital bed, an IV in his arm. He shrugged. "I'm alright. Dehydrated, bruised and stuck in the hospital for a while, but alright."

Rossi quipped with a smile, "Well at least you're alive. More than your captor can say anyways."

Spencer twisted his lips into a slight smile. "Setting someone on fire tends to do that." He stretched his aching muscles a bit, then asked, "How's Gia?"

"She's doing just fine. A bit worse off than you are in some ways but she'll be alright." Dave sat down in the chair next to Reid's bed and said, "You know what we found when we went to Abbott's house?"

Reid shook his head, "No, what?"

"He had a monitoring room that a video feed hooked up to every room in his basement. He recorded every couple he killed in that house. What he did to them, what they did to each other…everything." Rossi hesitated. It was in that moment that Reid knew what he could not say. So he said it for him.

"You saw what he did to us: the beatings, the starvation and psychological torture. You saw it all…didn't you?"

Rossi nodded. "Yes. I wish we had found you sooner."

Spencer shrugged a shoulder in response. "It won't help you to think about what you could have done. You helped bring us home—that's what matters."

Something still bothered Reid but he wasn't sure how to vocalize it with Rossi. Rossi, however, being the master profiler he was could sense this, so he asked, "What's wrong Reid?"

"I know something's not right." Spencer searched Dave's face. "Why else haven't Hotch and Emily been here as much as the others? Even when they are, they don't speak to each other or anyone else really."

Rossi let out a sigh, looking uncomfortable as he avoided Spencer's gaze.

"What aren't you telling me, Dave?"

"While you were gone…a lot happened, Reid." Rossi got to his feet and faced the window by Spencer's bed. He seemed so consumed with the view that Reid thought he had forgotten their conversation. Then Rossi turned back to him. "We were following a lead, trying to find you. We found a drug making operation instead."

Rossi paused, taking time to collect his thoughts. "Emily went in first and the drug dealers started shooting. Hotch and another agent went in to back her up. This agent got shot because Hotch made the wrong move—recklessly doing anything he could to protect Emily from being hit. We found out later when this agent died during surgery that Hotch and Emily have been in a relationship together for several months now."

Reid couldn't help it when his mouth dropped open. "What?"

Rossi nodded, "We had a hard time believing it too. It's been even harder dealing with the repercussions of it."

"Repercussions?" Spencer was unsettled by this. He couldn't help it.

Dave took a deep breath before he answered. "Emily quit the team, Reid. She's being transferred to another department in the field office at Quantico."

"Why?" Spencer couldn't believe his ears.

"She wanted to protect Hotch. She let the Chief know that she wanted to be transferred because she couldn't handle the job anymore."

The lanky genius was incredulous. "Hotch let her do that? He didn't even try to stop her?"

Dave attempted to rectify the situation, "Hotch didn't know she did it before it was too late to stop her."

"How could they do this? Don't they know that what they do affects everyone?" Spencer felt a burning anger at his fellow agents that he honestly couldn't explain. Rossi raised a hand to silence him. "They know Reid. They both feel guilty about what's happened. But there's nothing we can do about it now."

"Yes there is!" Reid protested. "Emily can come back! They might be able to transfer her again—to bring her back."

Rossi shook his head to the side. "There's nothing we can do. Emily made her choice and so did Chief Strauss. She already hired someone to take Emily's place on the team."

The young man felt his stomach sink hopelessly to his feet. The next question he asked was barely audible; almost like he didn't wish to know the answer. "Do you know who it is?"

"Agent Rosenwood."

Spencer's eyes snapped up to Rossi's face, mouth dropping open once more. "What?"

"She requested a transfer from the field office in Kansas City to Quantico which the Chief was all too happy to grant. They were waiting for a department opening for her and Emily's transfer what just what they needed."

"I can't believe this. Does Gia know?"

"No. I don't think anyone has told her yet." Rossi paused, watching the young genius who had his hands tangled up in his hair. "It's all very messed up right now. I'm sorry this is what you had to come home to."

Spencer twisted his lips regretfully then shrugged his shoulders. "Que sera sera," He murmured to himself, translating when he noticed the curious expression on Dave's face. "It means whatever will be, will be."

"Indeed." Rossi agreed. "I think I've put enough on your plate for a while. Get some rest Reid; we'll see you in a little while." He clasped his hand on Reid's shoulder before he left. Spencer was once again alone with his thoughts—not that he minded. The past hours have been a whirlwind of people trying to comfort him and make sure he was okay. All he wanted now was some peace and quiet. Then the nurse came in to check on him.

"Excuse me, is it okay if I walk around a little? I'm getting restless just sitting around."

She looked him over, regarding his medical condition very carefully. "Sure hun, that's fine by me."

"Great, thanks."

Spencer smiled pleasantly at her and she left him alone. He slowly got out of bed, dragging his IV with him down the hall to Gia's room. The little woman had her ankle in a cast and seemed so frail and fragile where she lay. When she saw Spencer come in she managed a smile. "Hello Spencer."

"Hello." He echoed, coming to sit in the chair by her bed. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better than I was. The doctors and nurses here have been really great to me. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just great." Spencer replied, thinking hard about letting her know exactly what was going on. She beat him to the punch however. "You'll never believe it Spencer! I talked to your friend—I think his name was Rossi—and I told him about what that psycho Koty Abbott did to me. You know, before he put me with you," she wasn't quite able to look him in the eyes as she spoke but Reid understood that. "And you know what he told me? He told me that Koty Abbott videotaped everything he did to us. Rossi said he just staged the room to look like he had raped me. That bastard lied to me Spencer! He never touched me!"

"Really?" Spencer was astonished but felt a measure of happiness for her. Gia nodded yes, her eyes glistening with tears. He smiled at her. "That's great!"

"Yeah, it is." She wiped her eyes. "I'm so glad to be finally be home. When they actually let me use the phone I'm gonna call my brothers. I miss them so much."

Her bubbling emotions were a little unsettling to Spencer. "Well, I just wanted to see if you were alright. So I guess my job here is done."

He left as speedily as his IV would allow him to and retreated back to his room. Gia thought his exit was strange but didn't dwell on it long. Spencer sat back down on his bed, his mind running a million miles a minute. He couldn't tell Gia. Not yet. Especially right now when he was so angry with Hotch and Emily. No, for now he was content to be on the mend in the hospital and eat the red jello he loved so much. He would tell Gia the truth later…much later.

XXX

_FireFriday: Aw, thank you! Those are my favorite types of stories as well—it's not so great for Reid but gosh it makes great drama. I especially love watching how protective the team is of him. They're just like a big family really. _

_68luvcarter: I appreciate that very much. I always like to bring out the differences between Reid and Gia yet show how they can complement each other regardless. Definitely agree with you about Mosley Lane—I don't think there was any blood involved but it reminded me of my worst fear as a child. You know, being taken by strangers who wanted to replace my parents. That made it all the more terrifying for me because it struck home so hard. _

_Marie-Ruth: Why thank you my dear. I always appreciate the beauty and strength of fire—especially when I can use it to defeat evil guys. Haha. Don't worry, I have plans for another story in the works that I hope you'll love just as much! _

_The-vampire-act: Glad you told me about that—if I wasn't so busy I would have entered myself. But your choices for the winners were excellent in my opinion! No worries, I've got more things up my sleeve that will come in the future. Yeah, I understand your feelings about Gia. She can be very dragging on your nerves because she's such an emotional person but it's also one of her strongest qualities as well. Quite a paradox eh? _

_LionInAComa: Hey, no worries. I know redheads who call themselves gingers just for their own amusement. I doesn't offend me at all—it actually made me giggle a little. Glad you liked the chapter!_

_Hpenchantress: I'm glad you disliked my Un-Sub just as much as I do. He's quite evil so it was lovely to get rid of him though I appreciated his sinister nature simply for the purpose of drama. Don't fret, there is more to come—at least in various other stories. _

I'm so grateful to all of you for reading and reviewing QSS and showing such a positive love for what I've done. It really touches me deeply. Also, this is the first story in a series that I'm working on which I hope all of you will be excited about! I also have a few one-shots that I'm working on which will be coming soon. All of you are absolutely wonderful and I hope you'll stay with me as my writing continues.

P.S. If you haven't seen the Season 5 finale of Criminal Minds, please do! It's simply amazing. Also, follow all the CM stars on Twitter and see what they're up to over their summer break from the show. It'll be good to stay in touch with your favorites—particularly Gubler. I hear he's building a chimney. See y'all later!


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